Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 34: To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the process by which the performance of Enterprise Ireland is assessed. [27334/12]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Enterprise Ireland receives budgetary funding from the Exchequer reflecting national priorities in the support of indigenous industry and the development of the knowledge economy. Value for Money and generating economic return are key principles in the work of the Agency, necessarily supported by effective targeting and performance monitoring.

Enterprise Ireland's performance is assessed at a number of levels: · Oireachtas level: Oireachtas oversight of the activities of the agency, Comptroller and Auditor General audit of financial statements in Annual Report and Accounts, attendance at a range of Oireachtas committees including the Committee of Public Accounts, and Joint Committee on Jobs, Social Protection and Education, targets/deliverables in line with national strategies e.g. Food Harvest 2020, and the Action Plan for Jobs 2012 for which quarterly deliverables are reported upon.

· Departmental level: reviews of agency outputs by the Minister and Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation in a variety of fora, including formal liaison meetings, monthly reporting and performance budgeting.

· Organisational level: the Board (and Executive Committee) of Enterprise Ireland has established clear processes related to the measurement and oversight of agency performance including the development of strategic, corporate and operational plans with associated performance metrics and targets.

This process of performance monitoring will be strengthened with the introduction of a detailed Service Level Agreement between the Department and the Agency which is currently being drafted.