Have you ever thought of being your own boss?  LCRL, through its Enterprise Officer offers one to one support and guidance to individuals who want to start up their own business or to individuals who are considering self employment as an option.

Who Can Avail of This Service?
Individuals who are in receipt of a Social Welfare Payment.

Clients can receive information on areas such as:

• registering a business
• taxation
• book keeping.

Other supports offered by the Enterprise Officer include:

• Administration of the Department of Social Protection Back to Work Enterprise Allowance Scheme (BTWEA).
• Guidance and support to unemployed individuals in developing business ideas and getting the business started.
• Provision of information and advice to BTWEA participants where required.
• Referral to specialised mentors where necessary.
• On-going support to individuals who have set up an enterprise through the Enterprise Allowance Scheme.

For further information please contact: Fiona Jannink, Enterprise Officer at LCRL at 043-3345555 or email fjannink@lcrl.ie.

The BTWEA scheme is a Dept of Social Protection Scheme designed to help people who are getting certain social welfare payments to become self-employed.  Under this scheme participants will continue to receive a percentage of their social welfare payments for a maximum of 2 years.  To qualify for the BTWEA you must be 12 months unemployed and have an entitlement to job seekers allowance.  Participants will keep the following portions of their social welfare payment, for a maximum of 2 years:

•100% for the 1st year
•75% for the 2nd year.

From 1 May 2009, if you have previously participated in the BTWEA scheme and used up all your entitlement, you can participate a second time after a period of at least 5 years has elapsed.

If you believe that you meet these conditions, you may qualify for this payment (Back to Work Enterprise Allowance Scheme) contact Fiona Jannink, The Enterprise Officer with LCRL at 043-3345555 or email fjannink@lcrl.ie.

Please click on the links below to open:

• BTWEA Application Form - Form BTW2
• Business Plan Workbook
• Tax Registration Form - TR1

A new Back to Work Allowance Scheme called the Short-term Enterprise Allowance commenced on the 1st May 2009.  Under this scheme there is no qualification period - clients can access the Short Term Enterprise Allowance scheme (STEA) immediately if you have an entitlement to Jobseeker’s Benefit and have either 104 PRSI contributions paid in the last 2 years or qualify for statutory redundancy.

The Allowance will be paid to qualifying applicants for a maximum of 1 year.  It will end when your entitlement to Jobseeker's Benefit ends (that is, at either 9 months or 12 months).

If you qualify for the Short-term Enterprise Allowance you will keep 100% of your weekly social welfare payment, including increases for qualified adult and qualified children.

If you believe that you meet these conditions, you may qualify for this payment (Short Term Enterprise Allowance Scheme) contact Fiona Jannink, The Enterprise Officer with LCRL at 043-3345555 or email fjannink@lcrl.ie.

Please click on the links below to open:

• BTWEA Application Form - Form BTW2
• Business Plan Workbook
• Tax Registration Form - TR1

Clients on the BTWEA Scheme often have difficulties accessing credit due to past unemployment and little or no credit history. To assist clients with essential set up costs there is a facility for clients to apply for a small loan of up to €3,000 max under the LCRL Revolving Loan Fund. However, one of the requirements of this fund is that clients have cash match funding of 35% of the total amount of money applied for under the fund. For example, if you need €2,000 to buy equipment for your business, then you will have to provide €700 yourself and then you will be eligible for a loan of €1,300.

All loan applications come before an appraisal committee and are judged against a certain set of criteria.

Certain businesses are exempt from support under this fund as per guidelines and if required further clarification can be sought from the Enterprise Officer.

Under this scheme clients on the Back to Work Enterprise Allowance Scheme can avail of book-keeping support to assist them with business set up, maintenance of accounts and end of year returns to the Revenue. This service is offered during the client's first year of business and is free of charge. This scheme is run in conjunction with the Department of Social Protection.

• BTWEA Application Form - Form BTW2
• Business Plan Workbook
• Tax Registration Form - TR1

Ongoing support is provided to clients of the Back to Work Enterprise Allowance Scheme over the two year period through the Enterprise Officer.

For more information please contact Longford Community Resources Ltd at 043-3345555 and ask for the Enterprise Officer or email at fjannink@lcrl.ie.