Enterprise boards set to be scrapped

The Government has begun the process of scrapping county and city Enterprise Boards — 20 years after their establishment — and subsuming their powers into local authorities.

Ministers have begun drafting primary legislation aimed at creating an enhanced “national micro-enterprise support model”, which will be delivered through a network of Local Enterprise Offices, linked to Enterprise Ireland.

Yesterday, Jobs Minister Richard Bruton and Small Business Minister John Perry jointly launched a four-week public consultation process on the Government’s reform plans for supports to the small business sector.

In all, 35 Enterprise Boards will be dissolved with their functions and assets transferred to Enterprise Ireland. A network of local enterprise offices, in local authorities, will also be established and be given specific targets — such as increasing the number of new start-up companies, increasing exports from SMEs, boosting job creation in the sector and increasing the number of start-up firms headed by women. Existing enterprise board staff will be retained.

The Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation said that the new model — which will also see a centre of excellence for small business supports established within Enterprise Ireland — will draw on the best of the enterprise board model, local authorities and Enterprise Ireland and deliver the services of each “in an integrated, focused and seamless way”.

“Micro and small businesses are the backbone of the Irish economy and employ over a third of all people working in Ireland, today.

“If we’re going to create the jobs and growth we need, we must provide better supports to this sector so that more of theses businesses can start-up, grow, export and create the jobs we need,” Mr Bruton said.

However, despite being open for public consultation until December 19, the plan has already met with opposition, with small firms lobby group, ISME, warning that the reorganisation has the potential to “set Irish entrepreneurship back decades”.

According to ISME chief executive, Mark Fielding, the announcement has confused many small businesses with its lack of detail:

“It is absolute madness the way they are doing it. They are cutting the 35 organisations that are actually making a difference to micro-businesses in Ireland.

“I’d be very fearful of the boards operating under the wing of the local authorities, as they do not have the ethos or experience of dealing with small business. At the moment, the boards are independent and flexible and there is a real chance this will be lost.”