Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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Question 294: To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the progress made on the planned amalgamation of city and county enterprise boards with local authorities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29794/12]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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The Government has approved the restructuring of the enterprise supports for the micro and small business sectors with a view to creating an enhanced national enterprise support model. This restructuring will include:

- The creation of a small and micro business Division within Enterprise Ireland with a new and enhanced focus on the wider small business sector, and

- The establishment of Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) to provide a "one-stop-shop" for small businesses within Local Authorities.

As agreed by Government, the CEBs will be dissolved in their current legal format and their functions, assets and liabilities transferred to Enterprise Ireland (EI). EI is being mandated to work with the Local Authorities to develop benchmarks for service delivery and enterprise supports as well as appropriate structures and delivery models for the LEOs. In this regard, a detailed formal Service Level Agreement (SLA) will be put in place between Enterprise Ireland and the Local Authorities which will set out how the new enterprise support model will operate in practice. The existing staff of the CEBs will be an integral part of the new arrangements.

There is a lot of detailed work to be done to effect these changes. An Implementation Working Group has been set up under the auspices of my Department to progress the matter and a first meeting of the Group has been held. In conjunction with this, my Department is seeking formal advice from the Office of the Attorney General regarding appropriate legislation.