Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am delighted Deputy Donnelly is a great supporter of the LEOs because I, too, am a supporter. I have visited almost half of the local enterprise offices throughout the country over the last two years. I am very impressed by the work they do. They penetrate into every region and county in the country, unlike foreign direct investment which normally sticks to urban areas. The LEOs play a very important role in every community. The micro job creation, with two, three or four jobs created, is important in small communities. In the Deputy's county, Sheelagh Daly is a good advocate for the LEOs. She plays an important role in the LEO network throughout the country as well.

With regard to the budget, Brexit happened in 2016 and the budget was €18.5 million. Obviously, we saw what was coming with Brexit. We realise that small companies are very vulnerable and microenterprises are very exposed to the potential effects of Brexit so we increased the budget by over €4.5 million at that stage.