Matt Shanahan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank our guests. I do not wish to get involved in philosophical arguments about employee rights or enterprise rights. Many people out there, particularly in the private sector, are looking for answers and support from the State. I commend ISME on the work it has done on SCARP, which I think Deputy Bruton has already mentioned, and on insurance reform. I think those measures have been very much welcomed by private sector employers in particular, and it is hoped we will see reforms and cost savings from that.

I refer to the ISME report. Senator Garvey spoke about it. We have to do something about the jobs kill zone. There is a lot of anecdotal evidence supporting the fact that many people just cannot afford to take on employment in that threshold area. We have to try to see how we can incentivise people to get back into the work zone. It is also worth noting in ISME's statement that only 40% of SMEs, according to the Central Bank's April report on SMEs, are functioning profitably at the moment. I think that might be an overstatement when we get into the far side of understanding what Covid has delivered.

I have brought up at this committee a number of times the absence of ISME from the Labour Employer Economic Forum, LEEF. I am a firm believer that ISME should be a member of that. Will Mr. McDonnell outline why he thinks this should be the case and why it is not the case?