Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Question 36: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation the progress made regarding the commitment given in the renewed programme for Government to undertake an independent review of the effectiveness of State agency support for enterprise, including interaction between the Industrial Development Authority, Enterprise Ireland and county enterprise boards; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45543/10]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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At the operational level, the enterprise development agencies, namely: IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland, the County Enterprise Boards and Science Foundation Ireland are responsible for enterprise promotion. They each have a core area of focus, which enables them to build a depth of relevant expertise and understanding of the enterprise cohort for which they are responsible, and to focus their own resources to best effect.

The focus of the enterprise agencies is broadly aligned with the strategic vision set out in the Forfás report, 'Making it Happen: Growing Enterprise for Ireland', although that report identified some areas where interventions need to intensify in order to deliver more effective support for enterprise growth in the current climate including, Building on Sectoral Strengths and Realising Potential in New Activities, Supporting Competitiveness at Firm Level and Enhanced Agency Collaboration.

The enterprise development agencies have, as a matter of course, collaborated extensively on an on-going basis through a range of formal and informal mechanisms. However, in 2009, my Department established a High Level Group comprising representatives of each agency to identify areas for further collaboration. In addition to involving my own Department's agencies, the High Level Group also includes a representative from Udarás na Gaeltachta. The Group has made progress in a number of areas, for example in ensuring that access to supports is defined by business need rather than agency "ownership", in enhanced sharing of information, and in identifying initiatives to maximise potential synergies between foreign and indigenous firms. The Group will continue to identify areas where agency collaboration can be strengthened and where the effectiveness of support to enterprises can be improved.

The Forfás report Making it Happen – Growing Enterprise for Ireland includes a specific recommendation that programme evaluations should be carried out to ensure that the programmes managed by the enterprise development agencies under my Department's remit are efficiently and effectively delivered. The report recommends that, as a priority, at least one programme evaluation should be carried out by mid 2011.

Forfás, working with officials from my Department, is at present developing a system wide evaluation framework incorporating enterprise policy, programme and project elements. The framework will be designed to measure ex-ante and ex-post the appropriateness, effectiveness and efficiency of policy objectives/delivery, and will be developed by early 2011. The programme evaluations will ensure that the programmes managed by the enterprise development agencies operating under my Department's remit deliver on defined objectives, and that they are efficiently and effectively delivered. The first programme evaluations carried out under the new framework are expected to be completed in the first half of 2011.