merrion street

Following the 2012 Action Plan for Jobs launch today, Environment Minister Phil Hogan said:

Micro and small businesses are at the very core of the Government’s strategy for recovery and Local Authorities have a key role in supporting job creation.  I am currently working on an extensive reform package for local government and as part of those reforms, local government will have an enhanced role in economic development and enterprise support, the establishment of the Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) provides for that service delivery.

Local government will play an active role on implementing the Action Plan for Jobs.  This will include development of a new sectoral strategy to promote employment and support local enterprise through the following measures:

• Local enterprise and business support arrangements;

• Procurement support;

• Local development and community based initiatives;

• The Green Economy;

• Employment support schemes.  Local authorities will be also become the lead provider of micro-enterprise supports locally.

Commenting on the Plan which recognises that start-up micro-enterprises are the lifeblood of local economies and make an important contribution to regional development the Minister stated that

...local government has significant capacity to promote economic development.  Most local authorities already play a substantial role in this regard, both through their traditional functions such as infrastructure and planning and increasingly,  in assisting local enterprise and promoting or marketing their areas as locations for tourism and investment.  Every business in an area inevitably has dealings with its local authority.

The “One Stop Shops” will be called “Local Enterprise Offices” and will build on the significant work done by the CEBs to date. The new “one-stop-shop” micro enterprise support structure will be achieved through the dissolution of the existing CEBs and the creation of a new Micro Enterprise and Small Business Unit in Enterprise Ireland (EI) that will work with Local Authorities to establish a new network of Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) in each Local Authority.

The LEOs will be mandated to provide a range of supports and services to all local micro enterprises who seek such supports. Essentially, the LEOs will carry out the combined work of the CEBs and the Business Support Units of the Local Authorities.

The new LEOs will offer:

• Local business advisory services (licensing, regulation, planning, etc);

• Information and support for accessing the local procurement process;

• Close coupling to NEES (National Employment and Entitlements Service) /SOLAS (Seirbhísí Oideachais Leanunaigh agus Scileanna) services (referrals, access to training/development/recruitment);

•  Access to micro-business supports/incentives (finance, innovation, marketing, mentoring, management development); and

• Progression for high-growth companies to appropriate EI supports.

This is a major step towards developing a truly multi-functional system of local government performing key roles across various sectors.  I believe the ‘One-Stop Shop’ will be good for small business, good for local government and will see the new LEOs acting as a focal point for a series of important new policy initiatives.

Read the full press release here.