Kathryn Reilly (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

As the Minister of State is aware, Sinn Féin supported this Bill and the enhanced role for local authorities in economic development. I have three brief questions to which the Minister of State might be able to respond now or alternatively on which he could revert to Members later. Can he indicate what will be the budget for the LEOs or the county enterprise boards next year?

In addition, the Joint Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation recently considered an audit report which stated that Enterprise Ireland faced severe pressure due to the moratorium on recruitment. Does the Minister of State believe the moratorium will be lifted to make available to Enterprise Ireland additional resources to take on the additional role with regard to oversight of the LEOs?

Finally, the Department set a target of 4,500 jobs to be created by LEOs next year. Are these gross or net figures?