Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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A total of €29.4m (€10.9m on current expenditure and €18.5m for capital supports) was allocated for expenditure on County Enterprise Development via the Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) in 2014. Expenditure of this funding will be monitored using the agreed Service Level Agreement between Enterprise Ireland and each Local Authority.

The Capital budget €18.5m secured for the LEOs this year represents an increase of €3.5m on the original 2013 Capital allocation, which is a strong indication of the Government’s support for the micro and small business sector, at a time of pressure on public finances. In addition to normal grant aid funding, the 2014 Capital allocation is being used to fund the innovative Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur (IBYE) competition, which was recently launched by the Taoiseach, and a new LEO Graduate Recruitment Programme.