The demise of County Enterprise Boards

Three out of four Dublin County Enterprise Boards have run out of funds to support new start-ups, according to Mr Bruton.

“The future of the economy depends on people having the ingenuity and the courage to set up a new business. The banks won’t touch them and now we see the Government abandoning them also. This makes a nonsense of the Government’s claim that enterprise and jobs are at the heart of their strategy and policy,” Mr Bruton said.

“Existing small businesses can expand, innovate and provide much needed jobs across the country. However, instead of supporting new businesses the Government has cut capital funding available to the County Enterprise Boards by over E7 million this year alone.”

Mr Bruton makes a reasonable point when he says the government strategy of sustaining past failed loans should not take priority over providing future credit.

“For the past twelve months we’ve seen good businesses going to the wall for the want of credit, while a failed banking strategy placed the nursing along of failed loans of the past as a greater priority than providing credit to business that can create a sustainable future.”

But the problem is not just in the capital – it is a national issue.

According to the  Indo’s cub business reporter Peter Flanagan (a past student of mine I might add!), CEBs have reduced their staff by almost 15pc and around one-fifth of them will be without a chief executive by the end of the year, their organisation’s head has predicted.

County Enterprise Board Network chairman Michael Tunney said CEBs could create more than 3,500 jobs a year if they were resourced properly.

“At a time when businesses are in most need of support, 70 grants that were approved in the first half of this year had to be deferred due to a lack of budget.

“As well as creating jobs we can help to sustain a further 100,000 in existing businesses but only if we can get the necessary resources,” he added.

Perhaps inevitably, The Local Government Efficiency Review Group said in a report published July 23, the State could save about €500m by a number of measures, including the merger of some boards with county councils.

Now where for startups and SMEs?

Roger Brownlie, for Vistage