Áine Brady (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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Question 619: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the precise role of the Central Co-ordination Unit or CCU in relation to the County Enterprise Boards; the Department functions it is responsible for; if there are plans to delegate more in the near future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1102/08]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The role of the CEB Central Co-ordination Unit has its origins in one of the core recommendations of the Fitzpatrick's Review of the County and City Enterprise Boards (CEBs). It recommended that a CEB Central Co-Ordination Unit (CCU) should be established within Enterprise Ireland (EI). The recommendation envisaged that the establishment of such a Unit could provide a level and range of supports to the CEBs which would ultimately enhance their effectiveness and impact on the development of micro-enterprise in Ireland. It also anticipated that in establishing the Unit within EI it could assist in providing as cohesive a structure as possible for the support of all indigenous enterprise and could facilitate a better exchange of experience and expertise between EI and CEBs particularly in relation to the identification of high potential start up (HPSUs).

This recommendation was approved by Government and subsequently endorsed by both the Enterprise Strategy Group Report and the Small Business Forum Report.

Following a period of discussion and consultation between the CEBs, the Department and Enterprise Ireland the CCU was set up in Shannon in mid-2007. A wide range of strategic, administrative, financial and technical support functions in respect of the CEBs is now being delivered by Enterprise Ireland, through the CCU, including the allocation of individual CEB budgets and the processing of CEB budget requests, and the Unit is the first "port of call" for CEBs in relation to all operational matters. The functions were transferred from the Department to the CCU on a gradual basis up to the end of December 2007. The CCU will also work closely with the Department in relation to the future development of strategies and policies concerning the micro-enterprise sector in Ireland and the role of the CEBs in this regard.