Address by Mr Noel Treacy, T.D., Minister for Science, Technology and Commerce, at The Presentation of Management Development Certificate to Participants in the County Enterprise Board's Management Development Programme; Meeting Board Members and participating in a photocall with Furniture Craft Ltd., which has been granted ISO9002 certificate. At 7 p.m., 25th January 2000.Dolmen Hotel, Carlow

I am delighted to be here this evening for a number of reasons, - firstly to present certificates to the participants of the County Carlow Enterprise Board's "Management Development Programme", and secondly to congratulate Furniture Craft Ltd., a local company who have been granted the ISO9002 certificate. I am also pleased to have this opportunity to meet with the members of Carlow County Enterprise Board for the first time.

The Carlow Enterprise Board, as one of the 35 City and County Enterprise Boards, was established to develop indigenous potential and to stimulate economic activity at local level, primarily through the provision of financial and technical support for the development of small enterprises throughout your Country. Their objective, and indeed the practice, is to provide a structured response to the gap which had been identified by us some years ago in the range of support services for small enterprises. For the period 1994 to 1999, the Enterprise Boards were supported under the Local Enterprise Sub-Programme of the European Operational Programme for Local Urban and Rural Development. For the period of the new National Development Plan 2000-2006, the Enterprise Boards will continue their sterling support of micro enterprises and will form an integral part of the Productive Investment Sub-programmes of both the BMW & S&E Operational Programmes.

From 1st January last, the local support and development functions for small business has been totally centralised in the County and City Enterprise Boards and the Boards. In the future, Enterprise Plans of each Board will be consistent with and form an integral part of County Plans, which will be prepared in conjunction with the new County Development Boards. This will give added impetus to enterprise development and avoid wasteful duplication.

Enterprise Boards are distinct from all other Agencies. They are endowed with the capacity to generate and increase awareness of enterprise at local level and are in a key position to be a primary influence to identify and to meet the needs of Individuals, who wish to respond to the challenge of developing an enterprise culture. Carlow County Enterprise Board's core value, is to develop an infrastructure for Micro-Enterprise. Thus the Enterprise Board acts as a single-point-of-contact, for a whole range of information on enterprise services, assisting small businesses in meeting their management development training needs.

The high level of success achieved by the County and City Enterprise Boards is very impressive and, more importantly their potential has been realised within a short timescale. The original job targets set for the Enterprise Boards was to create 8,000 Jobs, over the first five year period of their operations.

Already, to the end of 1998, over 16,000 Jobs have been created in Enterprise Board assisted projects and I understand that in the year just past, it is expected that a further 2,500 Jobs will have been created. The Carlow Board has shared in this success story, having assisted in the creation of over 500 full time and over 300 part time Jobs, to the end of last year.

The presentation of these Management Development Certificates is clear recognition by the Enterprise Boards, that there are many hurdles to overcome, not only setting up in Business but also in running a successful Business. The provision of Soft Supports is an essential aspect in the Support of Entrepreneurs if we are to maintain and encourage all of those who are willing to consider business start-ups and take the risks in setting up their own enterprises.

This Management Development Programme, initiated by the Carlow Board in November 1998 in conjunction with Envision Management & Marketing Consultants addressed such topics as:-

• Marketing,
• Health & Safety,
• Business Planning,
• Finance and
• Quality.

I would like to take this opportunity to commend all of the participants who took part in this excellent programme. I am sure that the benefits to their many businesses will be seen for a long time to come.

I know that the Carlow Enterprise Board has been actively involved in developing a diverse range of services to meet the needs of this area and I would like to pay tribute to the commitment of all concerned: Eithne Condon as Chairperson, Michael Kelly, the new Chief Executive; his predecessor the late Pat O'Meara and all of the staff who have contributed to the success of this great initiative, here in Carlow.

One of Carlow's success stories is Woodside Garden Products Ltd. This company received a "highly commended" citation at the 1999 National Enterprise Awards which I presented in November last.

Another very successful story is Furniture Craft Ltd., a company established by Pat Bolger. Mr. Bolger, who had been involved in the timber trade all of his life and whose family have a history in the profession, realised that there was a niche market waiting to be served, and his company diversified to specialising in furniture fittings for commercial properties. The company produce all styles of furniture to the highest standard, for hotels, bars and office's and has a long list of clients at home and abroad. Originally concentrating on joinery and small furniture, the company has grown from two staff members initially, to now employing twelve staff.

A very significant development for Furniture Craft Ltd has been their recent accreditation with the very prestigious ISO 9002 certificate. This accreditation is a well deserved recognition of the hard work and commitment of this company to ensuring that their top-of-the-range product is of the highest quality and standard. Indeed, more and more companies are opting to meet the standards of the ISO 9002 certification, as today, people in Ireland are increasingly intolerant of low standards.

Accredited awards such as ISO 9002 ensure that quality and standards are not alone met, but are also maintained. The success of Furniture Craft Ltd. in achieving this accreditation is not only a credit to themselves but an inspiration to us all.

In conclusion, I would like to take this opportunity to commend the Carlow Enterprise Board for their concerted effort in initiating this Management Development Programme. Finally, it gives me great personal pleasure now, to present the certificates to the 15 participants of this programme and to wish you all a continued success in your business ventures.