Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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The 31 Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) play an extremely important role providing supports directly to small businesses and promoting entrepreneurship within towns and communities across the country.

They are the ‘first stop shop’ at a local level providing expert advice and guidance, financial assistance, and offer a ‘signposting’ service for all Government supports available to business owners throughout the country.

It is this unique position that makes the LEOs so effective. They support a diverse range of new and innovative businesses to start and grow in every county and region, as evidenced by the year-on-year employment growth of LEO client companies.

I have been fortunate enough to visit many of our LEOs across the country, and I have seen first-hand the impact they have on small businesses and new entrepreneurs.

The existing national enterprise model has allowed the LEO network to deliver effective national programmes consistent with enterprise policy, designed and overseen by Enterprise Ireland’s Centre of Excellence, at a local level.

The strength of the current model means that there is a consistency of approach available across the country. All 31 LEOs can draw on the expertise of EI's Centre of Excellence as well as national panels of mentors to provide clients with bespoke and expert advice.

The immediate challenges that small businesses face as well as the long term issues of digitalisation and decarbonisation are best addressed through national expertise and initiatives, rather than through regional centres of excellence.

Furthermore, since the expansion of the LEO mandate to allow them to support businesses with up to 50 employees, there is a greater level of cooperation between the LEOs and the EI Regional Offices.

In addition, small business have access to the sixteen Technology Gateways located around the country which offer innovation support and assistance. Clients are referred to different Technology Gateways depending on their needs and irrespective of what region they are based in. Small businesses also have access to Ireland's four European Digital Innovation Hubs which are also regionally based.

My Department is currently developing a LEO Policy Statement that will set out the future direction and roadmap for the LEOs in the coming years. This will clearly set out how the LEO network will contribute to the implementation of the White Paper on Enterprise. It will be published to coincide the 10-year anniversary of the establishment of the LEOs in May this year.

The capacity of the LEO network will also be strengthened through the development of a new digital client engagement system which Enterprise Ireland are leading on.

In recognition of their importance, as well as their increased work load due to their expanded mandate, the LEOs will receive an additional €9m in funding this year to enhance delivery of all of their services to enterprise.