David Cullinane (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister and the Minister of State and the strong team from the Department. I wish them well at the upcoming Council meeting and commend them, as the previous speaker did, on the work done during the EU presidency.

Many important issues will be discussed at the Council meeting, and we have discussed many of them with the Minister and the Department over the past 12 months. With regard to the Internal Market and the small and medium enterprise sector, the Small Business Act for Europe was established primarily to promote growth in the small and medium enterprise sector and support the sector. For many in the sector it is high on rhetoric but is not met with much on the ground. Much more needs to be done on the ground to support small and medium enterprises. The domestic economy is a major issue for the small and medium enterprise sector at present. Recent figures show it has decreased by 0.4% of GNP in the last quarter, and over the past year it has had negative growth. Access to finance and procurement are also issues, as is the cost of business leases and utilities. We must recognise this. What is Europe examining and what practical actions will come from the Council meeting with regard to these areas? What will the Minister bring to the table? What is the Government approach to asking Europe to come up with new ideas to stimulate the domestic economy?

With regard to access to finance, we welcome as a positive initiative some of the proposals put in place by the Government such as micro-enterprise loans, but there has been a low take-up. Is the Minister concerned the SME sector is not taking up the opportunities in this area as much as he would have liked? What are the reasons for this and what steps will the Minister take to ensure the banks lend to the SME sector? AIB has done some innovative work and is examining emerging sectors. With regard to the agrifood sector it is examining the Harvest 2020 targets, the abolition of milk quotas and the expansion of food production. It recognises farmers must increase production and opportunities will arise in the sector. It wants to ensure it is fit for purpose when farmers seek credit. Opportunities exist for matching bank lending with growth and emerging sectors in the economy throughout the regions.

How is the Government holding the banks to account? The issue of legacy loans affects many businesses. What is Europe's approach to these and what approach will the Minister and the Department take on the issue at the Council meeting?

The issue of access to procurement has been raised, but encouraging the consideration of small and medium enterprises is not working. The OPW still rolls out Government contracts on the basis of economies of scale to save money. This makes sense at one level, but for many SMEs it would make more sense if the Government broke down some of the big contracts to make them more favourable for the SME sector. Is the Minister satisfied with the OPW's approach? Is it fully on board with maximising procurement opportunities for SMEs? Are we learning lessons from Germany and France, which seem to be much better at supporting the indigenous SME sector with regard to procurement?

With regard to competitive advantage in industry, manufacturing in the State has declined in recent years, and the Minister has acknowledged this, but it is still important. For every job created in the manufacturing sector at least one other job is created elsewhere, while only half a job is created elsewhere for each services sector job. With regard to the regional aid guidelines, the committee launched the south east economic development strategy two weeks ago and one of the recommendations made was that the south east should be on a par with the Border, midlands and western area with regard to state aid. The regional aid guidelines are up for renegotiation from 2014. It is the Minister in favour of ensuring the south-east is on par with other regions in the State? It is a difficult job and we are trying to hold what we have with regard to the State aid guidelines, but the level of unemployment in the south east region is obviously high and it is a reasonable ask.

I have questions on innovation but I will wait to address them to the Minister of State, Deputy Sherlock.