John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)

There is a lot in what the Deputy is saying. I suggest it is time we had a full and broad discussion at the committee of which he is Chairman, the Joint Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment, about enterprise boards, the SME sector and so on, and how we are engaging with them. It should be remembered that from 1993 to 2007 almost €190 million was given out to the boards in grants. There has been significant demand and they are meeting the demand for mentoring, further education, capital grants, refundable loans and all the rest of it. The increase of 16% will undoubtedly help them. There are now new demands on those boards. I have asked officials within my Department to consider the activities of the boards and to engage with them to try to understand what is now needed in our new economic circumstances.

Deputy Penrose asked about businesses with more than ten employees. It should also be remembered that Enterprise Ireland is now responsible for the boards, and the combination of the boards and Enterprise Ireland offers seamless support for the SME sector, from micro-enterprises to businesses with more than ten employees and export companies. An effort will be made to help these export companies grow and to engage with the companies that are employing more than ten people to see how we can be of assistance to them. As I said in my initial reply, mentoring, advice, further education and such support is as vital to these companies as finance, particularly now. In the context of the overall operation of the boards, I am happy with their performance, but there is perhaps a need for political debate at a committee meeting.

There is a misunderstanding out there, and I would like to correct the Deputy's assertion that there was no funding from the boards from June onwards. That is not true. At the end of last year we reallocated some of the money that was not being spent under the various measures because there were different demands within the local economies for certain enterprise boards, and they must respond accordingly. They have never been unable to respond because of a lack of support from the Department or from Enterprise Ireland. It is a new scene out there. It is being reflected upon and new measures will be introduced if necessary. The boards are working well. I meet them on a regular basis and engage with them and I am open to a full discussion, as I said, at the committee.

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