John Lyons (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Question 309: To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the numbers of business mentors under schemes operated by him available in Dublin North West and nationally; the number of businesses or persons in Dublin North West and nationally they have interacted with; the frequency with which they met them; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27286/11]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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The Enterprise Ireland (EI) Mentor Network was established to help companies identify and overcome obstacles to growth and provide tailored advice, guidance and support, to help accelerate growth and build management capability. Mentors are senior executives, drawn from the private sector, with a proven track record in business. They act as a confidential sounding board, advising companies on key operational and strategic issues.

The Network is regularly refreshed with CEOs and senior executives with high levels of achievement and with proven skills in a range of areas. Every effort is made to match the Mentor to the specific needs of a company.

· A mentoring assignment consists of 10 visits from a Mentor over a 12 month period.

· Companies choose a Mentor from a short-list of Mentors with the experience to meet their stated needs.

· The goals and objectives are established by the client in agreement with the Mentor at the start of the assignment.

· All Mentors sign a strict confidentiality agreement with Enterprise Ireland.

EI has 291 active mentors on its Mentor Network nationally; 15 of these mentors are located in the Dublin North West area. Since 2008, EI mentors have been appointed to 43 assignments with EI and County Enterprise Board clients located in Dublin North West. Twenty-four of these assignments have been completed and 19 are in progress. Mentors from the Network were appointed to companies across the country as follows:

· 2009 - 365 assignments set up

· 2010 – 327 assignments set up

· 2011 – To date 259 assignments have been set up, and 420 assignments are currently in progress.

Dublin City Enterprise Board (DCEB), which covers Dublin North West, and the County and City Enterprise Board (CEB) network across the country provide support for micro-enterprises in the start-up and expansion phases. The assistance provided includes a wide range of one-to-one mentoring, business advice and information services. Nationally, there are approximately 950 business mentors available to the CEB network of who 45 provide assistance to DCEB clients. In 2010, approximately 3,150 CEB clients availed of 6,750 mentoring sessions nationally and DCEB provided 247 of its own clients with 457 mentoring sessions.

Dublin CEB offers three mentoring packages as follows:

Developmental Stage Mentoring: This is aimed at those who cannot attend a Start Your Own Business Programme due to personal or work commitments and wish to gain expert advice on how to get started. This package consists of 4 mentoring visits (3 hours per visit).

Crisis Mentoring: This is aimed at businesses in difficulties financial or otherwise who cannot attend training courses but require immediate help with their business. It allows micro-enterprises (i.e. businesses employing 1-10 employees) the opportunity to meet with a business mentor over a period of 1.5 hours to discuss the clients credit control, cash flow or other urgent issues. Additional hours may be granted if necessary.

Subsidised Mentoring: This is for client businesses operating within manufacturing and internationally traded service businesses, those who have been in receipt of a grant from the Board, or those who have the potential to be assisted by the Board, and are offered between 3 and 5 sessions each of 3 hours duration. Mentors may be appointed, at the discretion of the Board, for those businesses operating in the services sector.