Mary White (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will ask questions that will spell out the reasons I query it. Under the current arrangement, Enterprise Ireland comes under the remit of the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and the local authorities are under the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government. I have a major issue with that. Most of the current enterprise boards have been very successful, although an odd one or two have not been as satisfactory as others. When Fianna Fáil was in government and at parliamentary party meetings, members would raise concerns about which county enterprise board was not working. I think the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation by its nature is not entrepreneurial and did not manage the strategy for the enterprise boards. That is not taking from my personal belief in their success.

I see a major struggle between both Departments. Civil servants are great at fighting turf wars. Many county managers are very autocratic people. We would love to think that they are visionaries and leaders, and they are thinking of their country first. How will the county managers co-operate? Will there be consistency? I doubt it.

The question of staff has been raised. In times of economic turmoil it is very wrong to change direction. The major issue is to provide jobs for people. Some 87,000 people emigrated last year. Why would one make a political decision in a time of turmoil to change a system that works well? Mr. Richard Murphy suggested that the staff will stay focused but I do not believe that staff are happy about this. Their jobs are at stake. There are 124 people employed in the county enterprise boards. Human beings, by their nature, will worry about what will happen to their jobs. Will there be promotional and career development opportunities for the staff when these changes have been made?

It makes good copy to read of a robust service development agreement between Enterprise Ireland and the local authorities. My experience as an entrepreneur and a politician leads me to ask what sanctions Enterprise Ireland will apply to a local enterprise office that is not delivering its applications for start-ups. Who will deal with the offices if they do not reach their target?

Has Enterprise Ireland the resources to handle all the queries that will arise from the change in the structure? I agree with Deputy Áine Collins who states there should be twice as many Enterprise Ireland offices around the world for the great work it does. How many applications are processed by the city and county enterprise boards at present? How many actually deliver? In my experience one must bore down into the domestic market before one can dream of exporting. How will Enterprise Ireland handle that?

We had a delegation from the Irish Exporters Association before the committee about one month ago. They were seriously concerned about potential exporting companies that were not getting help from Enterprise Ireland. I was amazed to learn that as I thought that Enterprise Ireland had an open door policy. I think Mr. Hayes should meet Mr. John Whelan, the chief executive of the Irish Exporters Association, to find out about the hundreds of companies that cannot get official help to export their produce. I think that is very important.

I know that Mr. Murphy is the CEO and co-ordination person in Shannon, is that not right? Mr. Hayes is also involved, so it is complicated. What is his role in the micro-enterprise unit? What new elements will the implementation group add to it? I am not arguing with the witnesses but, in principle, I instinctively cannot support this move under the local authorities. By its very nature it is not entrepreneurial enough. Fianna Fáil does not support this move.