Local Enterprise Is "Critical" To Ireland's Economic Prosperity

John McGuinness T.D., the Minister for Trade and Commerce welcomed the opportunity to work closely with the Enterprise Boards to tackle the economic challenges facing Ireland.

The Minister said that he was confident that the Enterprise Boards had shown their ability to serve their local community in both difficult and prosperous economic times in the past and that the Enterprise Board model would not be found wanting in the face of the current downturn in the economy.

He also said that the CEBs have had an excellent track record in tapping into local entrepreneurial potential and had increasingly focused on assisting enterprises with genuine potential for sustainable growth and employment.

He added that he would like to see the Enterprise Boards continue with this approach to the best of their ability.

"We need to keep the long-term economic picture in our sights and lay the proper foundations for better times ahead," he said. "The indigenous small business sector is, more than ever, the key to a solid economic future and we must do our best to continue to encourage entrepreneurship and maintain the momentum built up in recent times."

The Minister highlighted the success of the CEBs since their inception in 1993 with well over 30,000 jobs created in CEB assisted companies with over 2,000 jobs created in 2007 alone.

Preliminary indications from the CEBs to-date are that 2008 will show another strong performance.

The Minister went on to say that "the job statistics, welcome though they are, tell only one side of the story. Much of the worth and value of the Boards is the work that they do within their own County in encouraging, advising and mentoring expanding and new entrepreneurs and in sending out the message that setting up your own business is indeed a feasible option."

He also noted that the current climate surrounding public finances could not be ignored in relation to the level of funding available to the Enterprise Boards.

However he remained confident that the Boards would be able to use available funding in a judicious and effective manner so as to ensure that business growth and development will not suffer.

Minister McGuinness added that his time as a member of Kilkenny County Enterprise Board in the past and his business experience had equipped him for his expanded Ministerial role in relation to Enterprise Boards and the needs of business.