Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Chairman would be very welcome. I can assure her it is not as interesting as this.

My first question is to Mr. Shanahan from Forfás. The 2012 report is an excellent one. I ask him to take the following comment in the spirit in which it is meant. The report's recommendations are a bit fluffy. That is not the fault of Forfás. They are fluffy because Forfás is trying to advise and it is up to the Minister or the Government to put real meat on the bone. Whenever I hear the phrase "interdepartmental committee", I cringe. What is happening on the ground? It is fantastic that the Minister of State, Deputy Sherlock, has been appointed to this group. Has anything started to happen, specifically in terms of money, resources and legislation? I would like to know the answer to that.

My second question is on the microenterprise fund. I have spoken to some of the people co-ordinating social enterprise in Ireland. One of the points they made is that the social entrepreneurs cannot or will not access the microfinance fund, even though there is a good deal of money there.

My understanding is that it has not been drawn down. I cannot remember the specific technicality, but it had something to do with having to be a director of the social enterprise and opening up someone to personal liability. It was a constraint around the microenterprise fund. Does Ms Bayliss know anything about this or if that is changing?

I have a third question. According to Ms Bayliss's data, we are at less than half of the European average in terms of social enterprise, which to me was a surprising finding because, as she rightly said, this country has an extraordinary tradition of volunteering and huge social cohesion. It is astonishing that Ireland is at less than half the European average, given our heritage, tradition of volunteering and social cohesion. Will Ms Bayliss give one or two reasons she believes we are way behind in that regard?

Equality budgeting is something I strongly support. I co-authored the submission to the Minister for Finance, Deputy Michael Noonan, and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Brendan Howlin. The most striking aspect for me was that Oireachtas Deputies and Senators received the ESRI report on income distribution in the budget four days after the Finance Bill had been signed into law. One of the main requests of the Equality Budgeting Campaign is for Members of the Oireachtas to have that type of analysis on budget day. I have had a direct response from the Minister, Deputy Michael Noonan, which states he was not doing it. I have not heard yet from the Minister, Deputy Brendan Howlin, but if he also says "No", I am willing to bet that they are the only two Members of the Oireachtas who do not believe Members of the Oireachtas should have the right information. Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin support equality budgeting. I would say the vast majority of Independents support it and will hazard a guess that most Labour Party Members support it. Regardless of one's perspective on whether there should be greater equality, I am guessing that the two Ministers are the only two of the 226 Members who are publicly stating we should not be given the information on what the budget we are voting into law will do. I find this extraordinary and it is fantastic that this committee is taking up the issue. It could be the conduit in applying some pressure from the Dáil. The response the Minister, Deputy Michael Noonan, has given is that they are not willing to do it because Members already receive the information. I have a view on the quality of that information, but as a member of the Equality Budgeting Campaign, does Ms Bayliss believe the information provided for Oireachtas Members on budget day in the budget "deck", to which the Minister, Deputy Michael Noonan, is referring, is sufficient and does it qualify as useful and substantive quality analysis?