Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)

The CEBs operate as the engine for small business development throughout the State. They operate locally and therefore have a fantastic knowledge of enterprise locally. They also ensure that small businesses around the State can engage easily with expertise, funds and advice. Therefore, they are a very important part of the enterprise development area. We have a situation whereby Fianna Fáil, in the previous Administration, significantly reduced the amount of funding county enterprise boards received at a time when their job was important and jobs were important to the economy.

I am not sure I got an answer to my question. My question concerned the future of CEBs because in recent years the previous Minister created an air of confusion and uncertainty with regard to them. People are fearful that the knowledge that has been built up will be dissipated. Will the county enterprise boards exist or will they be subsumed into the local authorities? If they are subsumed into the local authorities, will they become part of what people see as the layers of bureaucracy that may exist in some local authorities?

What are the plans for the funding? Will the cuts by Fianna Fáil in the county enterprise board sector be reversed by the new Administration? If they go to local authorities, will it be the case that councillors may have influence over where grant funding can be allocated? This, if it arose, would be negative.

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