Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Will the LEOs continue the work of the county enterprise boards, which were pioneers for encouraging female entrepreneurship? Will they be able to roll out programmes and grant-aid specific programmes aimed at attracting female entrepreneurs? The early-stage rate among men is 10.3% compared to 4.2% for females. The county enterprise boards were the leaders in that area for many years. Will the new LEOs be in a position to do that or will that be in the remit of Enterprise Ireland?

At the end of his response the Minister briefly mentioned tourism. What will be the specific role of the LEOs with regard to tourism? Will they be in a position to offer training or to grant-aid tourism projects? Will they be in a position to work with communities in economic units in the same way the county enterprise boards did?

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