Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Mr. Richelle and Mr. Claridge and thank them for their presentation. For many years I have been a member of the committee and had an interest in European affairs. For as long as I can remember we have talked about jobs and growth. They have been priorities for many Presidencies and are usually contained, either in the super text or subtext, in the priorities outlined at the beginning of each Presidency. Notwithstanding the various strategies developed and the various programmes and initiatives put in place, the financial crisis still bedevils us. Sometimes we tend to talk about jobs and growth in isolation, but I do not suggest this was always the case. We tend to believe jobs and growth are disconnected from the economic model, the single currency and the overall economic and political agenda. We look at the issue from a high level and develop macro strategies, but I am not sure such a view has the desired effect of spurring growth leading to job creation. In the first instance, one must protect and retain what one has because advances take place and some technologies become outdated. Therefore, the first thing one must do is replace such systems as they become redundant and the next obvious step is to find new advances. To that end, a practical approach has not been taken to entrepreneurship. We have various framework programmes that seek to provide assistance for entrepreneurs, but I am not sure there is enough of a connection with entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized enterprises. The director general will know better than I do that the bulk of people employed across Europe work in small to medium enterprises. I do not think we give enough support to the micro sector.

Let us look at the regulatory burden placed on some entrepreneurs when starting out. Many of them want to plan their path to success, but if they have to prepare a business case or develop a plan, they will not start at all. Fortunately, some entrepreneurs fail to see the barriers and often avoid and ignore regulations for a while. It is unfortunate that entrepreneurs must do so. We must create a culture that allows a business to develop its roots and then subject it to the rigours of the regulatory regime, the costs involved and various demands made of them. If we are serious about encouraging job creation and growth, we must start at the beginning with the micro sector by assisting it to overcome those hurdles which are necessarily in place for larger enterprises or when a business is up and running.

The overall macro strategies are fantastic, elaborating on issues such as the movement of labour. That is all good and important, but we must focus on small and medium-sized enterprises and determine what it takes for businesses to get started. We must determine whether we need stronger policies on incubation at national level which are driven from a European perspective.