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The Minister for Small Business, John Perry TD, today (Friday) launched the survey on ‘The Impacts of Community Owned Enterprise Centres in Ireland’ on behalf of the National Association of Community Enterprise Centres (NACEC) and Enterprise Ireland, during a visit to Enniscorthy Enterprise Centre.

Since the launch of the first Community Enterprise Centre scheme in 1989, €61.4 million has been approved by Enterprise Ireland for the development of CECs across the country. To date there have been four capital schemes and 134 centres have been approved for financial support - of which 120 have been completed. Also in January 2012, Enterprise Ireland introduced a €2m fund to support the appointment of 46 Business Development Managers to sustain and scale up tenants and employment numbers within the CECs previously funded by Enterprise Ireland.

The survey illustrates that 392 new businesses have commenced operations in CECs since 2010. Also 9,300 jobs have been created by companies in CECs in the past decade. As of today, over 3700 jobs are in place in the Enterprise Ireland-funded CECs all over the country and 93% or 3460 of these are private sector jobs, which can often be critical to local services and employment creation.

Speaking at the launch the Minster John Perry stated: ‘Today, I am pleased to be launching ‘The Impacts of Community Owned Enterprise Centres in Ireland’. As Minister for Small Business, along with the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and Enterprise Ireland, I would like to reiterate our support as advocates of the Community Enterprise Centres and the nurturing role they have in start-up indigenous companies across Ireland. Clearly with the creation of 9,300 jobs over the past decade the Community Owned Enterprise Centres have shown the important role they play in creating much needed jobs across this economy. I have no doubt that this continued partnership will go from strength to strength in the future’.

Joe Kelly the Chairman of the NACEC also speaking at the launch said: ‘NACEC member CECs have facilitated the creation of a considerable number of jobs over the last decade. Most importantly, these jobs are dispersed all over Ireland. In rural areas, the CEC is often the driver of economic development and job creation in that area’.

Minster Perry will be visiting five other CECs across the country in the coming months to mark the contribution that the CECs through the work of the NACEC and Enterprise Ireland have achieved with regard to promoting enterprise, job creation and sustainability and economic development.

The NACEC is the representative body of the 120 Community Enterprise Centres (CECs) all over the 26 counties that have been funded by Enterprise Ireland and serves to create a support network which can input to policy creation for enterprise and economic development. NACEC acts as the focal point of support for centres and their Business Development Managers. NACEC has as a key objective that CECs are leading lights for employment creation in their respective areas and are regarded as best practice models, not only in Ireland but across Europe, for dispersed job creation and local economic development.

For more information on The National Association of Community Enterprise Centres visit the following websites: www.nacec.ie or http://www.enterprise-ireland.com/en/news/pressreleases/2012-press-releases/business-development-managers-appointed-to-37-community-enterprise-centres-across-the-country-under-%E2%82%AC2million-programme-%E2%80%93-minister-bruton.html

Note for Editors:

About the National Association of Community Enterprise Centres (NACEC)

The NACEC is a member guided Association that are committed to promoting enterprise and representing the views and needs of Community Enterprise Centres.

The NACEC acts as a representative body for Community Enterprise Centres, working to fulfill its members’ needs to contribute to, and influence enterprise policy at national level and represent the concerns and issues of its members at local, regional and national level. It is committed to cooperation among its members by sharing of information, good practice and communication of the work of the sector.

The survey demonstrates just how important a role the Enterprise Centres play and the following statistics are most important as:

· 9,300 jobs have been created by companies in CECs in the past decade.

· 392 Companies have started up operations in CECs since 2010.

· 3712 jobs are currently accommodated in the 76 CECs who responded to the recent survey.

· 3,460 of these 3,712 jobs are private sector companies.

· 317 Companies have expanded out of CECs in the past 3 years with 1,600 jobs.

· 394 Companies would not exist in their local, and often rural, areas if there were no CECs

· 55% of companies leaving CECs do so to expand, representing a low failure rate.

· 40% of Companies in CECs are exporting their products or services.