Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 37:

In page 48, between lines 27 and 28, to insert the following subsection:

"(3) The Minister commits to examining and reviewing the Employment and Investment Incentive and Seed Capital Scheme in advance of Budget 2014, in particular with regard to its effect on employment levels and new jobs created."
The incentive scheme is being expanded in the Bill. The incentive was originally put in place in 2003 and the rules governing it require that an applicant company obtains a clearance certificate from Enterprise Ireland. By July last year, only 335 certificates had been issued, the bulk of them in the first years of the scheme's operation. It is unclear what the benefit of certification or calling on the taxpayer as a result is. We are not opposed to the intent behind the scheme but are concerned that it would be expanded without evaluation or the identification of the problems with promoting it.

Sinn Féin's jobs and enterprise spokesman, Deputy Peadar Tóibín, has been in regular meetings with county enterprise boards, many of which were not even aware that the scheme existed. The intent of the amendment is to ensure the Minister reports on the matter to provide for an evidence-based discussion on the merits and possible improvements to the scheme. The amendment does not challenge the Government's aims but asks the Minister to commit to examine and review the employment and investment incentive and seed capital scheme in advance of budget 2014 to establish the effects on employment levels and new jobs. There are questions to answer given that only 335 certificates were issued, the majority in the earlier years of the scheme's operation. The scheme has been in operation for ten years and there is a very low take-up of it. Given that county enterprise boards do not know it exists, there are obvious difficulties and problems with it.

While I do not question the Minister's intention in expanding the scheme, there is a problem somewhere. Following on from our earlier discussion, the Department must examine the scheme to establish if it is working, if there is merit in it and to discover what the problems are and revert to us. That is what the amendment proposes.