This article is from page 12 of the 2014-08-19 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 12 JPG
CLARE County Council spent € 742.15 last month on the official launch of the its new Local Enterprise Office (LEO), but the spend was far from the € 4,000 splurge of some other local authorities or the frugal celebrations of Leitrim County Council who partied for just € 30.
On July 14, the Minister of State for Small Business, John Perry, officially launched LEO at Áras Contae an Chláir in Ennis, a department that has been operational since mid April.
Combining the resources of the Clare County Enterprise Board and Clare County Council’s business support unit, Clare LEO is one of 31 around Ireland that is tasked with delivering services and support to busi- nesses within a framework set by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and overseen by Enterprise Ireland.
According to figures released in a parliamentary question, 27 local authorities have already hosted official events to launch these offices.
The € 742.15 spent by Clare County Council on the official launch included photography costs.
The efforts of the neighbouring local authority, Tipperary County Council, were not as prudent however as it ran up the largest bill of € 4,385, which included a € 1,449 catering bill and a € 1,000 marquee hire.
Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown also ran up a bill over € 4,000 with the Taoiseach’s home county of Mayo coming in third with costs reaching € 3,717.
Clare was well below the mid-way mark in 16th place when it came to costs, but it was Leitrim that proved to be the most entrepreneurial when it came to showcasing its enterprise office. The € 30 it spent was for the cost of a courier to deliver a stand. The tea and coffee for the celebration was provided by the council canteen and kitchen with two small local companies displaying their home baking and providing the food free of charge.
Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton said official launches of these offices, which cost a total € 38,528.81, were part of an ongoing effort to raise awareness of their role.
“Each LEO has a small allocation for events such as these and the costs are incorporated into each Office’s budgets for the year,” he said.