Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The reality is that small businesses have been well protected by this Government. We were the first Government to appoint a Minister of State, Deputy John Perry, with specific responsibility for small business. We have taken a very vigorous approach in seeking to increase access to finance and introducing many tax measures that have been specifically targeted at small business, including the tax break for three years for companies that are starting up. We have been very sensitive to the needs of small businesses. The cost structure in terms of the PRSI reduction was always flagged as being a temporary reduction. It was provided for in the jobs initiative in the budget on the basis that it would last for a specific period, and it was funded for that period. The actions taken such as the 15,000 additional positions in the tourism sector are in no small measure due to the initiatives taken by Government, in particular, the 9% VAT rate.

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