Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy must acknowledge the great work that has been done and the way we work with the LEOs. I referred in my reply to the collaboration between the local authorities and Enterprise Ireland. Those bodies along with the Department work with the 31 LEOs around the country. Most LEOs are located at the front of local authority buildings. They are very prominent. In terms of the work we have been doing to develop the LEOs, the student entrepreneurship awards are important. We also have the Entrepreneur of the Year award in respect of which we receive many applications and many people are entering this area. A good deal has been done in this area. The Minister and I meet the LEOs on a twice-yearly basis. This year, they celebrated their fifth birthday. They have created more than 18,000 jobs since they were established. We have new arrangements in place, together with the resources we are giving the LEOs, including human resources. Each LEO now has a graduate, a young person working in the digital and technical area. which is important. I ask the Deputy to take note of the OECD report and the report we have put together, which we hope to launch in mid-October. It sets out the shortcomings for small businesses in the country and how we can improve matters in that respect. Addressing those shortcomings will be a priority for us to ensure the LEOs and microenterprises play a very important role in the regions.

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