Feargal Quinn (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Níl mórán Gaeilge agam; therefore, I will speak in English.

The Minister is to be congratulated on the employment figures. Employment levels have improved hugely and the Companies Act 2014 is going to be of considerable assistance in reducing the difficulties experienced by start-up companies in seeking to commence operations. There are still problems when it comes to establishing new businesses. On previous occasions I have referred to the fact that the authorities in New Zealand have made it possible for a new business to establish operations in one day at a cost of less than €100. In Ireland a person seeking to set up a business must first approach a commissioner for oaths to make the necessary arrangements. On the second day he or she must go to the Companies Registration Office and, on the third, will be obliged to register for VAT and corporation tax. On the fourth, he or she will receive his or her company seal.

I understand it takes six days in total to get a new company opened in Ireland, whereas it can be done much more quickly in other countries. Singapore is number one for ease of doing business, while Ireland is number 13.

A disappointing omission from the plan is any reference to the issue of upward-only rent reviews. There was at least a mention of it last year, but it is not mentioned at all this time, even though it continues to be a huge deterrent to anybody wishing to set up a business.

The plan does include a reference to crowd funding, which offers a viable alternative to bank funding. It is possible to do something in this regard, but it will require legislation to ensure people will be confident to invest on this basis.

I have some concerns about the tradition of leaving old laws and regulations in place rather than automatically getting rid of them. The Government has a policy of seeking to remove legislation that no longer applies from the Statute Book, but that policy does not seem to have come as far as it should in practice.

An issue that attracts a lot of attention is that we in Ireland are very poor when it comes to language learning and skills. There have been several instances where foreign companies have set up here with the intention of taking on hundreds of staff only to discover that Irish people cannot apply because they do not have the required foreign language skills. That is a problem that remains to be addressed.

The Minister will not be able to solve all of these problems or solve all of them easily, but one issue he could address without delay is that of business start-up procedures. It should be possible to do more online rather than requiring people to do four, five or six things. The Minister has emphasised that increasing the number of business start-ups is a target for him. Something can be done here to help ensure that target will be met.

The Minister has heard me speak about the French system under which the same laws do not apply to small companies as are applicable to large companies. This means that a firm employing fewer than 50 people is not required to meet the same level of regulation as a company on the scale of Google, for instance. If we are to succeed in making Ireland the best place in which to do business, we must ensure it is easy to start a business.