Dan Neville (Limerick, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the grant assistance and support that is available to a qualified solicitor who wants to set up their own business (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44187/12]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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The person in question may wish to contact her local County Enterprise Board (CEB) to discuss what options may be available to her and her proposed business venture. Contact details for the 35 County and City Enterprise Boards can be found on .

The CEBs can provide both financial and/or non-financial assistance to a project promoter where eligible. However, whilst not all businesses will meet the criteria set to avail of financial assistance, the CEBs also offer a range of non-financial assistance in the form of business advice, training and mentoring services that may be of benefit to start-up and developing businesses.

The Microenterprise Loan Fund was launched on the 27th September and will improve access to credit for micro-enterprises and facilitate the growth and expansion of viable businesses from all industry sectors across the country, which have been refused access to credit from the banks. The Fund has a significant entrepreneurship focus to encourage all would-be entrepreneurs, including those who are unemployed. It will also add value to other Government schemes of support for entrepreneurs and unemployed persons, such as the Back to Work Allowance or the Seed Capital Scheme.

The Fund will provide support in the form of loans for up to €25,000, available to start-up, newly established, or growing microenterprises employing less than 10 people, with viable business propositions, that do not meet the conventional risk criteria applied by banks. The potential viability of the business proposal will be the dominant factor in all credit decisions.

As part of the overall Government approach to unemployment, the Department of Social Protection (DSP) operates a range of employment support measures designed to encourage and support social welfare recipients of working age to reduce their dependency on welfare payments by taking up self-employment opportunities.

These include the back to work enterprise allowance scheme (BTWEA), short term enterprise allowance scheme (STEA), employer job (PRSI) incentive scheme and JobBridge - the national internship scheme. The STEA is payable to a person who qualifies for jobseekers’ benefit and who wishes to commence in self-employment.

The person in question may wish to contact her local Social Protection for further information on her specific entitlements.

Further information on a range of financial supports is available in PDF downloadable format (Financial Supports for Irish Business) on the homepage of the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation website at