Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)

To clarify, I am not asking why county and city enterprise boards were set up. I was a member of my local enterprise board and am very much aware of the great work they do. What I am asking is that the Minister of State and his colleagues give consideration, before the budget, to the need to expand the remit of enterprise boards and other bodies in order to cater for the thousands of businesses which cannot, under the current guidelines, access help or which are falling between stools. Will the Minister of State seek to develop other means by which such companies can be supported and the jobs they provide be protected? The two existing employment support schemes are insufficient to meet the need that exists. We must have new ideas and new momentum in this area. I propose that we amend the remit of the enterprise boards to include job protection in all the various sectors.

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