Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

With the permission of the Vice Chairman, the Minister of State, Deputy Sean Sherlock, might make a brief opening statement on the innovation issue when we come to it. I think it is the second of the programmes.

I thank the Vice Chairman and the committee for holding this hearing. Overall our budget for the coming year is €732 million, a reduction of 4% on the 2013 provision. The capital provision is €440 million, the current provision is €291.5 million. Adding in the capital carryover of €23 million, which we have secured, will allow us to maintain capital spending at the same level as the outcome of last year.

On the jobs, enterprise and exports area, we can look back on a very good year in terms of employment performance. Not only does the CSO data show growth of almost 62,000 in private sector employment but IDA and Enterprise Ireland had record job performances. Enterprise Ireland has reached record levels on its exports and sector strategies are making good progress. We are encouraged that the Action Plan for Jobs process which achieves cross-Government support for the enterprise and jobs agenda is adding value. That is not to say that everything we are doing is perfect. There will obviously be comments on the success of our new access to finance measures. They have definitely added value but our ambition would be to see them grow further.

In the small business area for which the Minister of State, Deputy John Perry, has responsibility we will shortly publish an entrepreneurship forum which was a piece of independent work conducted by Mr. Sean O'Sullivan with a group of practical entrepreneurs. We will follow that up with our own enterprise strategy. In the course of the year we will seek to make entrepreneurship and small business a very central focus of what we are about. We are rolling out the local enterprise offices this year and we want to see them help provide a first-stop shop for business in order that anyone who is seeking access to any of the State programmes can have an easy and understandable location from which to get that support.

The Minister of State, Deputy Perry, has been instrumental in driving this need for a good front-of-house point of sale, POS, to use the professional term. That is clearly a very important element.

My ministerial colleague, Deputy Sean Sherlock will deal later with innovation, but I will make a brief comment. We have adopted the new approach to research funding. We have in place a central technology transfer office. We have delivered the new IP protocol and Deputy Sherlock has been instrumental in delivering Horizon 2020. I think we are set fair to sweat the asset of our investment in research and science more effectively in the years to come. That has been the central ambition that he has held in this brief.

Regulation is the third part of our responsibilities. We are making very strong progress. The committee very generously accommodated the passage of the Committee Stage of the Companies Bill 2012. The Companies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2013 allows businesses to apply to the Circuit Court for examinership. We will shortly introduce legislative reforms in the area of work permits. We are progressing the reforms in the workplace relations commission, which is simplifying the whole issue of workers' rights, and issues of dispute. We have pushed ahead and successfully negotiated the opening of negotiations with the US for a trade agreement over time. We see many of our agencies rolling out better compliance methods for businesses to keep high standards and be compliant in a way that does not represent a high cost. The big uptake of BeSMART under the Health and Safety Authority is a good example. Members will also see in the Companies Registration Office the adaptation to online reporting, e-filing and so on. Our agencies, despite the declining resources available to them, are delivering strong service to the clients. That is the key challenge.

I will deal specifically with some of the areas before taking questions. The integration of Forfás in the Department has made a substantial change in the presentation of our Estimates. Members will see a very substantial increase in consultancy budgets. The actual consultancy budgets are not up, but this reflects the integration of the type of work that Forfás does, which is largely policy evaluation and value for money exercises, some of which it does not have the in-house capability to deliver and which it traditionally outsourced. While it may appear there are significant increases in the administrative and consultancy budgets, the situation reflects the integration of Forfás which was one of the rationalisation measures. Let me explain at the outset the thinking behind the integration of Forfás. I have been a strong advocate for the integration of Forfás even when I was on the benches opposite, since the time Culliton reported on the need to strengthen our industrial strategy. Culliton was of the view that we needed a strong policy capability in the Department. In the event, the policy capability was outsourced from the Department to Forfás. I think bringing the policy capability within the Department, which is reflected in these numbers, gives the Department greater capability to shape policy and to oversee the performance of our agencies in a more effective way. That integration of Forfás will help over the longer term.

Chairman, rather than have a long statement we will deal with the issues as they arise.