| Q1.What
are the objectives of the City Enterprise Board?
A1.The principal objectives
of the Board are;
- to fill a gap identified
in the existing range of support services for local enterprise
initiatives
- to develop and promote the development of viable,micro-enterprise
projects with direct or indirect enterprise support
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Q2. Who
are the members of the City Enterprise board?
A2.They are comprised of elected public representatives,.state
agency personnel, social partners at local level, local business
and voluntary sector representatives.The latter group includes
representatives from the Chamber of Commerce, local enterprise
groups and people engaged in promoting enterprise.
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Q3. How
is the City enterprise Board funded?
A3. The EU and the Irish
Government provide funding under the
National Development Plan 2000-2006. The amount granted to each
Board is based on an assessment of it's enterprise plan and
the
needs and opportunities of it's area.
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Q4. What
is the role of the City Enterprise Board?
A4. The City Enterprise
board does the following;
· provides direct and
refundable financial supports
· Provides advice, counselling, and mentoring help to
individuals, groups and new enterprises.
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Q5. What
sort of projects are assisted?
A5. Projects from a company,
association,local community
and individuals which have following characteristics :
· is commercially viable
· has job creation potential
· can demonstrate that labour shortages do not exist
Target projects are those with
the potential to employ up to ten persons.
A project may not qualify for assistance:
· If it is too big ,
with investment costs in excess of €126,974
· If it is already working
with other agencies e.g., Enterprise Ireland
· If it is covered by
an existing EU grant scheme
A project, which can proceed
without grant assistance
only by taking market share from existing businesses,
cannot be assisted financially. These conditions would exclude
most retail and professional services.
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Q6. If a
project does not qualify for grant assistance can it
avails of any other assistance?
A6. Yes, the introduction
of a wide range of non-financial supports represents
a significant improvement in National support for the micro
enterprise sector.
It is possible for a project to avail of non- -financial supports,
e.g., information,
mentoring etc., even when financial assistance would not be
granted.
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Q7. Do projects
from the service sector qualify for grant assistance?
A7. Service sector projects
may qualify for financial assistance provided
they conform to the Enterprise Plan of the Board but arte subject
to
displacement and dead-weight restrictions.
Service sector businesses should
satisfy the following criteria:
Have a real capacity to grow
by identifying specific niches that offer
genuine opportunities for expansion
The market served is one where
there is a real potential for a net
increase in employment growth, but not at the expense of businesses
already in the market i.e., no displacement
The service offered will foster
innovation, either within the supported
business or within the business to which the service is being
provided
Service offered will improve
the quality of the service provision in the sector
Service projects promoted by
unemployed or women returning to the
work-force, may be assisted,
but must demonstrate a market niche
which excludes displacement
It is an internationally traded
enterprise.
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Q8. If an
enterprise is located outside of Waterford City can it obtain
assistance from the Board?
A8. No, an enterprise
must be based within the city boundary to avail of assistance
from the City Enterprise Board.There are 35 Enterprise Boards
in the state, each
catering for a specific geographic area. The board will advise
you to which board
you should make an application and by logging on to empower.ie
site you will find
a comprehensive listing and location of all 35 boarda.
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