Noel Rock (Dublin North West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

A great deal of this is onerous and would be difficult to establish effectively. Much of what is being asked for is already done by the Department of Finance in the form of budgets and technical papers. I am of the view that a lot of it is covered and we must be careful not to create unnecessary red tape. When one looks at amendment No. 8 and the obligation it would impose on companies to list any past or previous grants, subsidies, tax incentives or research supports, one sees how that would become tremendously onerous. It is not entirely clear if it would be a positive that a company succeeded in obtaining these things in the past or whether it would be a negative in the context of its application. If we put it all in the full context of where the economy stands, companies with research and development departments increased employment between 2000 and 2014 by 101% in the service sector. In effect, they doubled the level of employment whereas the employment rate among manufacturing firms that were not actively engaged in research and development was down by 72%. There is a clear divergence which is the full context for the Bill and the thrust of its provisions. While I appreciate the points being put forward, an onerous burden and a great deal of red tape are being proposed. I understand where Deputies Boyd Barrett and Bríd Smith are coming from, but I am not inclined to support these amendments having given them due thought.