Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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Question 262: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if any of the county enterprise boards has sought an increase in funding from the annual funding allocated to each board due to the fact that their funding has already been allocated by today's date in 2008; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21706/08]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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The allocation of individual budgets to the thirty-five County and City Enterprise Boards is carried out by the CEB Central Coordination Unit (CCU), which has been set up within Enterprise Ireland to carry out a number of functions in respect of the CEBs, which had been previously undertaken by my Department. Such functions include the allocation of 2008 budgets to individual CEBs and the effective management of available resources to the CEB network in order to maximise sustainable development in the micro-enterprise sector.

In determining the 2008 allocations for individual CEBs, the CCU adopted a systematic approach to ensure the maximum degree of objectivity and equity of treatment. It is a matter for individual CEBs to determine how they will use allocated funds as well as the funds available to them from repayable grants in the most effective manner possible (subject to meeting the appropriate eligibility criteria and a number of limits and thresholds that are in place). Some Boards may choose to commit all of their available funding as projects present themselves, even if this means that their funding is exhausted relatively early in the year, while others may choose to reserve some funding until later in the year so that they are in a position to support high quality projects that emerge at that time. It is expected that Boards should manage the delivery of associated financial interventions and management capability development programmes on the basis of their allocated amount over the year as a whole. This is a fundamental operating principle which all Boards are expected to adhere to. As with all State-funded assistance CEBs are expected to prioritise and manage available funding in a targeted and effective manner as it is not possible for a CEB to provide financial assistance to every eligible project that may qualify for support.

I understand that some Boards have indicated to the CCU that they could utilise additional funds. As part of the CCU's on-going management of available funding for 2008, the Unit intends to conduct a review of CEB spending in late summer. It is generally the case that a number of Boards are not in a position to spend all of their annual allocations. Accordingly, should surplus funding become available, this will be reallocated by the CCU to any Boards that are in a position to spend additional funds. It will be in the context of this process that any additional funding requests from individual Boards will be considered.