Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

With regard to the LEOs, I agree the county enterprise boards have been in a no-man's land for a number of years, including before this Government took office, and they must be reformed. Could the Minister furnish the committee with the number of jobs that each of the county enterprise boards created in the last number of years, so we can get an understanding of what the objectives of the new LEOs should be in the forthcoming year? We could then measure the output of the LEOs and the cost per job as well.

The Minister has been getting input from private business with regard to the LEOs. Some of that input came after the decision was made. Perhaps we could get some of that input and an understanding of it.

My other question is about credit for small business. Niall O'Donnellan, who is the liaison between Enterprise Ireland and AIB, Bank of Ireland and Ulster Bank, told the Committee of Public Accounts last week that the Irish banking system is not fit for purpose for lending to the SME and exporting sector. This is still a major issue for small business. I met a small business owner in Trim yesterday whose business is ready to go. He has a grant from a development organisation but the banks will not give him the money for a long enough period to spend it and then draw down the grant to cover it. The system is still hampering small businesses in a major way. Does the Minister agree with Enterprise Ireland's representative? What can he do with the banking system by using the public interest shareholders?

If the Chairman will permit me to raise another issue, Tara Mines in my constituency has threatened temporary closure of the mine. Many small businesses deliver to Tara Mines and the industry is very important in the local economy. Will the Minister try to persuade the management in Tara Mines to stick with the wage agreements it agreed less than nine months ago-----