Denis Naughten (Longford-Roscommon, Fine Gael)
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Question 100: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he will provide additional funding to efficient county enterprise boards; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23438/06]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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Question 102: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he is satisfied that State funding for county enterprise boards is sufficient for them to carry out their remit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23889/06]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 100 and 102 together.

I have provided funding of more than €30m to the County and City Enterprise Boards this year. This represents an increase of nearly 8% on the allocation provided in 2005. In addition to the Exchequer funding provided, the CEBs have an increasing flow of funds available to them from repayments of refundable grants provided in earlier years. It is estimated that some €3m will be available to the CEBs in 2006 from this source.

I believe that the level of funding available to the CEBs is adequate and appropriate at this time and that it enables all CEBs to fulfil their function and their remit in maximizing entrepreneurial development in the micro-enterprise sector throughout the country. The CEBs play an extremely important role in the development of indigenous enterprise in Ireland and it is my intention that an appropriate level of financial support for all CEBs will continue to be made available. I am confident that the level of funding available is sufficient to enable any CEB support any good quality projects that may present.

In determining the allocations for individual CEBs, my Department adopts a systematic approach to ensure the maximum degree of objectivity and equity of treatment. This approach involves the provision of funding on the basis of a standard initial allocation to each CEB as well as an additional allocation that is determined mainly by population but which also takes account of issues such as local unemployment trends, capacity to spend, existing commitments and regional spread. Furthermore, my Department works closely with the CEBs throughout the year to ensure that the available funding is utilised to the maximum extent possible. This can involve funds being reallocated from Boards that are not in a position to spend their full allocations to Boards that have a demand for additional funding.

Denis Naughten (Longford-Roscommon, Fine Gael)
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Question 103: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment his plans to review the eligibility criteria for funding from county enterprise boards; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23437/06]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The basic criteria under which the County Enterprise Boards have been operating since their inception in 1993, and under which funding is available, is based primarily on factors such as the sector of the economy in which an enterprise is operating or intends to operate and the size or proposed size of the enterprise. CEBs can assist, through either financial or non-financial means, in the establishment and/or development of new and existing enterprises from individuals/sole traders, companies and community groups subject to the following eligibility criteria:

∙the enterprise must be in the commercial sphere;

∙the enterprise must demonstrate a market for the product/service;

∙the enterprise must have a capacity for growth and new job creation;

∙the enterprise must not employ more than 10 people.

Within the above eligibility criteria there are certain priorities and restrictions imposed such as the following:

∙priority must be given to enterprises in the manufacturing or internationally traded services sector which over time can develop into strong export entities and graduate to the Enterprise Ireland Portfolio;

∙tourism enterprises must be aimed predominantly at overseas visitors;

∙locally provided enterprises promoted by the unemployed, those recently made redundant and women re-entering the workforce can be supported provided that those enterprises do not give rise to concerns about deadweight or displacement;

∙it is considered inappropriate to support other areas such as retail enterprises, personal services (e.g. hairdressers, gardeners, etc), professional services (accountants, solicitors, etc), construction, as it is considered that these generally give rise to unacceptable deadweight (where projects would have proceeded anyway) and/or displacement (where the projects simply displace business from other players in the market) concerns;

∙in relation to the provision of financial assistance there has been an increasing recourse to repayable forms of assistance.

In 2003, my Department, through Forfás, commissioned a comprehensive review of the role and functions of the CEBs in the development of micro-enterprises. The Review largely endorsed the activities and operations of the CEBs and concluded that there is justification for continued state support to micro-enterprises and that the CEB network can continue to play a useful role in the overall national enterprise development policy. It also recommended that, in providing assistance to micro-enterprises,

∙CEBs should focus more on economic, rather than social or local development, objectives;

∙there should be a renewed focus on the core enterprise mission;

∙the issues of potential deadweight, displacement and duplication should be more systematically and rigorously addressed and

∙there should be a move away from direct grant aid to repayable finance as well as a greater provision of soft supports as an alternative to grant aid.

The recent report of the Small Business Forum endorsed the key recommendations of the Fitzpatricks Report in relation to the future focus of CEB support and assistance. My Department is in dialogue with the CEBs in relation to the implementation of these recommendations in an appropriate manner and in relation to determining how best the CEBs can re-focus their supports in line with the recommendations of both the Reports in order to ensure that the eligibility criteria remain fully relevant to current market conditions.