Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 23 October 2012

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation

Micro-Enterprise and Small Business Unit: Discussion with EI, ISME and SFA

1:40 pm

Photo of Dara CallearyDara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the delegation. Enterprise Ireland does fantastic work. I had the honour of travelling abroad with it to see the work it does there in addition to the work it does locally. I commend it on the initiative launched yesterday for female entrepreneurs. It is a niche that needs to be developed, and the initiative is a good start in that regard.

I am not convinced that the association between Enterprise Ireland, county enterprise boards and, in particular, local authorities, is good. It has the look of a shotgun marriage.

While respecting the work Enterprise Ireland does, the enterprise boards have fulfilled a niche for companies that have been established since 1993 that were never Enterprise Ireland companies. Much of the language used in Mr. Hayes's presentation suggests they are still not on Enterprise Ireland's map. He spoke about export-focused microenterprises. Many enterprises which fulfil a local demand or service got their start under the county enterprise boards and while they may grow and eventually develop an export niche in their start-up phase, these enterprises did not do that. When the local authority is brought into the mix and one thinks of small business and business efficiency, one does not think of a local authority. They do not get it. They do not understand the pressure under which small businesses operate. I am not convinced this new model will be of better service to businesses seeking information and start-up support.

I understand the implementation working group is to report to the Minister by December. Does Mr. Hayes have an understanding of the timeline following that? I ask that in the context of budget negotiations for 2013. Where is the budget that traditionally would have been part of the county enterprise boards due to go in 2013? Will it remain within the enterprise boards or will it go to Enterprise Ireland?

On the section on service level management, Mr. Hayes said that Enterprise Ireland will allocate individual budgets to LEOs based on agreed funding guidelines. Will he expand on what that involves? Are they agreed or what kind of guidelines has Enterprise Ireland in place? Mr. Hayes mentioned that part of the input to that will be a range of local authority services associated metrics. That is a new term. I believe members would be interested in getting some detail on that.

Mr. Hayes said that regarding client pathway development, "there will be promotion of client development through the development of the pathway between the LEOs and Enterprise Ireland". That is welcome but my key concern, and this was mentioned by Mr. Hayes, is the progression of LEO clients through the HPSU, the potential exporter division or established departments within Enterprise Ireland. Where within the Enterprise Ireland is the home for the traditional county enterprise board client? Is there a welcome for them or an understanding of their particular needs as we move forward? Where do the Leader partnerships, especially the Leader enterprise funds, fit into this? Will they come under the remit of the LEO or what experience has Enterprise Ireland of dealing with those?

There is considerable reference to service level agreements and the detail of them in the presentation. Who is responsible for supervising those? Is there an independent arbitration mechanism in place that can be accessed by a client company or a business which feels it is missing out or is there just going to be a cosy-up between the local authority and Enterprise Ireland for the sake of it to show that Enterprise Ireland is being tough on the local authority and vice versa? Is there a robustness to the system or an independent mechanism in place in that respect?

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