Ireland's County & City Enterprise Boards (CCEBs) were established in 1993, as

companies limited by guarantee In British, Australian, Bermudian, Hong Kong and Irish company law (and previously New Zealand), a company limited by guarantee (CLG) is a type of corporation used primarily (but not exclusively) for non-profit organisations that require legal pe ...

, during a time of high unemployment (15.1%) and limited opportunity for business. They were given statutory status under the Industrial Development Act of 1995. The 35 boards were created to stimulate

economic development In the economics study of the public sector, economic and social development is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and o ...

and to cultivate an ethos of local

entrepreneurship Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...

. They were dissolved by the County Enterprise Boards (Dissolution) Act 2014, and their functions transferred to

Enterprise Ireland Enterprise Ireland is an Irish state economic development agency focused on helping Irish-owned business deliver new export sales. The aim of Enterprise Ireland is . History Enterprise Ireland was established by the Industrial Development (E ...

Functions

The Enterprise Boards were established to "fill the gap in the support services for local enterprises" and to "develop indigenous potential and stimulate economic activity at local level primarily through the provision of financial and technical support for the development of small enterprises". The primary goals of each enterprise board were designed to stimulate and promote local enterprise culture and entrepreneurship and to assist new business start ups, particularly through the provision of financial assistance. The Irish economy has always relied heavily on its exports and in that respect, the County & City Enterprise Boards were intended to support those companies with a potential export capacity. Once a company reached its export potential,

would incubate that company going forward. Ireland also depends on its indigenous

small and medium enterprises Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) or small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are businesses whose personnel and revenue numbers fall below certain limits. The abbreviation "SME" is used by international organizations such as the World Bank ...

, (SMEs) for internal economic growth. These companies were the primary target for CEB support.

Organisation

Each board was made up of voluntary members representing the local council, local or national agencies and local community interests. The boards employed a small number of staff who deliver board supports in the locality.

Funding

Funding to the Boards

Funding for the Boards was provided by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment through the CEB Central Co-Ordination Unit under the National Development Plan 2007–2013 (NDP). Part of this funding came from the

Exchequer In the civil service of the United Kingdom, His Majesty’s Exchequer, or just the Exchequer, is the accounting process of central government and the government's ''current account'' (i.e., money held from taxation and other government reven ...

and part from the

European Regional Development Fund The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) is one of the European Structural and Investment Funds allocated by the European Union. Its purpose is to transfer money from richer regions (not countries), and invest it in the infrastructure and se ...

through the two Regional Assemblies: the South and East Region, and the Border, Midlands and West Region.

Funding available from the Boards

The CEBs supported the development of

Micro-enterprise A micro-enterprise (or microenterprise) is generally defined as a small business employing nine people or fewer, and having a balance sheet or turnover less than a certain amount (e.g. €2 million or PhP 3 million). The terms microenterprise and ...

s at local level. The CEBs could support individuals, firms and community groups provided that the proposed projects had the capacity to achieve commercial viability. The CEBs could provide both financial and non-financial assistance to a project promoter. The forms of financial assistance which were available, subject to certain restrictions, included Capital Grants, Employment Grants and

Feasibility study A feasibility study is an assessment of the practicality of a project or system. A feasibility study aims to objectively and rationally uncover the strengths and weaknesses of an existing business or proposed venture, opportunities and threats pr ...

Grants. The provision of non-financial assistance could take the form of a wide range of business advice and information services, management capability and development programmes and e-Commerce training initiatives.

References

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External links

35 County & City Enterprise Boards
(archived) Non-profit organisations based in the Republic of Ireland Economy of the Republic of Ireland