Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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Question 230: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the grant aid available to garden centre or nursery owners for extending their business; the agencies that give grant assistance to such businesses; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43000/06]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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My Department does not provide direct funding or grants to businesses but provides funding to a number of State Agencies, including the County and City Enterprise Boards, Enterprise Ireland, Shannon Development and FÁS, through whom assistance is delivered directly to businesses.

The County and City Enterprise Boards (CEBs) provide support to micro-enterprises with 10 employees or fewer. The function of the CEBs is to develop indigenous enterprise potential and to stimulate economic activity at local level. Subject to certain eligibility criteria, enterprises may qualify for financial support from the CEBs in the form of feasibility, employment and capital grants or for non-financial support such as business advice and information, management development, training and mentoring.

All of the CEBs operate to the same criteria in relation to the assistance which they can offer i.e. they can support the establishment and/or the development of new and existing enterprises by individuals, firms and community groups provided that the projects, that should generally be in the manufacturing and internationally traded services sector, have the capacity to achieve commercial viability and which over time may develop into strong exporting entities. In this regard, therefore, funding is unlikely to be available towards the costs of extending a garden centre or nursery business.

In order to qualify for Enterprise Ireland assistance client companies must be Irish owned, be a manufacturing or an internationally trading services enterprise or be an overseas company in the food, drink and timber sectors seeking assistance to locate in Ireland, must employ more than 10 people or be a high growth start-up according to criteria defined by the Board of Enterprise Ireland. In addition Enterprise Ireland must be satisfied that the company will:

produce products for sale primarily in world markets

produce products of an advanced technological nature for supply to internationally trading or skilled sub-supply firms within the State

produce products for sectors of the Irish market which are subject to international competition or is a service industry, as defined by relevant ministerial order.