Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) to facilitate start-up of small businesses.

Coming from a small business background myself I fully appreciate and admire anyone who has the guts and nerve and self belief to start up a business.  What with the pressures of costs, taxes, marketing, red tape and tough financial markets it is a miracle that such people continue to have the persistence to keep going at huge personal stress to their families and themselves.  I believe creative thinking and these small enterprises will hugely help us out of our current difficulties.  I salute each and every one of you.  The new LEOs which are being set up to facilitate start-up of small businesses will, I hope, cut red tape and be pro active in helping such businesses to ‘arrive and thrive’

New ‘one-stop’ shops are to be established in each county and city council to facilitate the start-up of small businesses. The new units known as “Local Enterprise Offices’ will sit firmly within the county/city council structure. The councils will absorb the County Enterprise Board functions and dovetail them with those of the Business Support Units in each county to form the new Local Enterprise Offices. The fact that the new Enterprise offices will sit within the County/City Council structure will be viewed as a welcome developmen

‘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.”