County and City Enterprise Boards (CEBs)

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Established in October 1993 as companies limited by guarantee, there are 35 County and City Enterprise Boards (CEBs), located all over the country. The role of the Boards is to develop indigenous enterprise potential, to stimulate economic activity at local level and to promote micro-enterprises (10 or fewer employees).

The Boards provide a source of support for small businesses, by fostering an awareness of an enterprise culture. This awareness is highlighted through the formulation of enterprise plans for their areas. The Boards play an important role in assisting businesses and the development/ expansion of micro enterprises, helping to bring them to the stage where they can avail of the services of Enterprise Ireland.

An important feature of the CEBs is that they include representatives of all the main sectors in the local community, including social partners, representatives from the county council, state agencies and local voluntary groups.

The CEBs support the development of micro-enterprises at local level. The CEBs can support individuals, firms and community groups provided that the proposed projects have the capacity to achieve commercial viability. The CEBs can provide both financial and non-financial assistance to a project promoter. The forms of financial assistance which are available, subject to certain restrictions, include business Priming Grants, Expansion/Development Grants and Feasibility/Innovation Grants. The provision of non-financial assistance can take the form of a wide range of business advice and information services, management capability training and development programmes, e-Commerce training initiatives etc. Details are available through each local CEB.

The basic criteria under which financial assistance is available from the CEBs is based primarily on factors such as the sector of the economy in which an enterprise is operating or intends to operate and the size, or proposed size, of the enterprise. The enterprise must be in the commercial sphere, must demonstrate a market for the proposed product/service, must have a capacity for growth and new job creation and must not employ more than 10 people. The CEBs give priority to enterprises in the manufacturing or internationally traded services sector and the CEBs must always give consideration to any potential for deadweight and displacement arising from a proposed enterprise.

The Boards are divided into two regions: the South and East (S&E) and the Border, Midlands and West (BMW). Funding for the Boards through the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment is provided under the National Development Plan (NDP). Part of this funding comes from the Exchequer and part from the European Regional Development Fund through the two Regional Assemblies: the South & East Region, and the Border, Midlands and West Region.

Day-to-day operational technical and financial support is provided to the CEBs by the Enterprise Ireland CEB Central Coordination Unit (CCU). The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment is the CEBs lead Department focusing on policy support and development.

Whilst the Department funds the CEBs it has no role in the day to day operational activities of the Boards, and queries relating to support provided by a particular Board should be addressed to that Board: each CEB has a Customer Charter in place which details their services and contact procedures.

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