Tánaiste welcomes beginning of Social Economy Programme in Kildare

Mary Harney, Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment today (Friday, 27th April 2001) welcomed the beginning of the Social Economy Programme in Kildare with an initial three projects.

Three projects have now received business plan grants to enable them to expand their services in Kildare. The projects are:

A grant of up to £4,000 ( € 5078.95 ) is being made to each promoter. Each business plan is to be submitted to the local Social Economy Working Group, which includes representatives, from employer, union, local and voluntary groups, for their advice and recommendation for full grant funding by FÁS.

Speaking in Kildare the Tánaiste said she "was delighted that the Social Economy Programme has taken its first steps in Kildare with the approval of these business plan grants. These projects, and the additional ones in the pipeline, show the vibrancy of community and voluntary initiative in Co. Kildare".

She said "A caring society and an enterprise economy go hand in hand and no more so than at local, community level where initiative and enterprise bind strong communities together. I believe strongly that our job in government is to value and support all forms of enterprise and initiative. This includes community and voluntary enterprise as well as business and individual enterprise.

"There are over 90 social economy business plan grants approved nationwide and I would like to see a lot more. Today is just a start in Kildare. I hope to see it expanding with a lot of much-needed, new projects. This is a real response to local and community needs by the communities themselves," she added.

She said the important thing is that Social Economy projects are rooted in their communities and provide employment and valuable local services.

"When we say we need an enterprise economy, we mean a diversity of enterprises, from large scale businesses delivering thousands of jobs, to micro-projects serving local communities. They all contribute to quality of life and our standards of living in Ireland. Everyone has a part to play in an enterprise economy and a caring society", the Tánaiste concluded.

The Social Economy Programme was launched by the Tánaiste in September 2000. It aims to support the development of social economy enterprises that benefit the economic and social regeneration of communities. It also provides support for employment for long term unemployed people, people with disability, persons, member of the Travelling Community and other disadvantaged persons.

The budget for the Social Economy Programme this year is £17 million ( € 21.59 million ), of which £2 million ( € 2.54 million ) is from the European Social Fund. The Social Economy Programme was developed out of the Partnership 2000 Social Economy Working Group and is run by FÁS. Applications for support should be made to the local FÁS offices.

Eligible enterprises for grant support include:

• Community Businesses - that would be come self - financing in the medium term
• Deficient Demand Enterprises - where the demand for particular goods and services within a community is not matched by the community’s ability to pay due to disadvantage or low density population
• Enterprises based on Public Sector Contracts - where there is potential for public sector expenditure in disadvantaged communities to be sub-contracted to local social economy enterprises

Social economy enterprises offer ownership within a community or among people with a shared interest; they should respond to local market needs and provide sustainable employment opportunities.