John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will take up a number of points raised, starting with the question about the three-year plan. When it is available, perhaps we will have a further discussion with Enterprise Ireland in regard to its targets and the costs associated with the plan. We had a general discussion on banking issues, which was raised by a number of members, including Enterprise Ireland's engagement with the banks, the new products and services required, the fact the banks are a little bit behind the curve in regard to meeting the demands of new and developing businesses and, in turn, those economies. We will send the transcript of the meeting to the Department of Finance because there is a chapter in the Comptroller and Auditor General's annual report on credit facilities and so on. It may be helpful to the Accounting Officer from that Department, when he comes before us, to have the various comments from this meeting and he can answer some of those queries.

We receive the accounts from the county enterprise boards. It would be appropriate to bring in a number of the boards, or certainly the Accounting Officers, to discuss the county enterprise boards themselves, the costs associated with them, the jobs created by them, the spend they have in each county and the results from each county. Arising from this meeting, I believe it would be appropriate to do that.

I compliment the county enterprise boards on the work they have done over the years and on their achievements. Will Mr. Ryan give us a note on the money spent by each county enterprise board over, say, the past five years, the number of jobs created from the grants, loans or whatever that each county enterprise board has given to its clients, and how much it cost each county enterprise board to create a new job within the community it represents?

On the new local enterprise centres or offices, what was the level of consultation with Enterprise Ireland on the establishment of that policy? I will not enter the area of policy, but has Enterprise Ireland been consulted?