Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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I would like to get Chambers Ireland's views on the Global Irish Economic Forum, which is a great initiative in terms of bringing people with an Irish heritage back to Ireland to discuss topics of interest to Ireland and our diaspora. In light of the fact we are coming up to the third such forum, what do the representatives of Chambers Ireland think of the fact there seem to be few tangible results from the forum? The investor visa programme, for example, has only produced one investor to date, with fewer than five in the pipeline. Countries like Cyprus, which holds seminars in London every week for people from the BRIC countries and gives them visas for Cyprus, is doing an outstanding job in getting investors. As a country where we have very little in the way of cash being supplied by banks to businesses, I am amazed we do not copy what other countries have done so successfully. We have the investor visa programme, but we do not seem to be able to roll it out effectively.

It was also announced at the Irish global economic forum that seed capital would be provided. What happened in that regard? I do not think the people who gave time and energy to the two previous fora will come to the third one if they do not see results. I am not convinced there have been any real results to date.

I would like the views of the witnesses on the effect of the changes being implemented by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and of the requirements for regulatory impact assessments to be carried out by various Departments. What is the view of Chambers Ireland on the fact that the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform has only carried out one regulatory impact assessment on legislation being introduced by it? It does not amount to significant reform, where a Department does not carry out an assessment as to the impact of legislation and regulations it is introducing, particularly where these will tie up businesses in significant bureaucracy.

At a parochial level, we did an assessment of red tape and government regulations in Valentia Island and we found out that between planning regulations stopping development and the government licensing requirements for foreshore development, which are as Byzantine as could be imagined in complexity - there is no clear path through and nobody knows how they work, not even the Department I am sure - it can take up to four years to get planning for developing an enterprise. I have heard that in Donegal it takes up to six years in some cases to get a foreshore licence. We discovered in Valentia that as a result of the red tape and despite the current economic crisis, the creation of 70 jobs was being prevented due to government regulation. What is the view of the witnesses on regulatory impact assessments?

On the issue of St. Patrick's Day, I agree with my colleagues. When Fianna Fáil was in government, it was hit from all sides, mostly by the media, on this issue. That is cheap journalism. Journalists would say that nobody wants to hear a good news story. When a country the size of Ireland is able to light up the Statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro or Table Mountain in South Africa and all we get from the national media is cynicism and the worst form of journalism, that does not help the situation here at home.

In the week or month around St. Patrick's Day and in the period around March, our commitment should be doubled in terms of what we do abroad. I realise that given the economic situation the Government is not spending as much as it did but I believe it should be spending more because one could not buy the opportunities for Ireland that arise in the month of March in terms of what we could do with them. I welcome the fact that Chambers Ireland has spoken about it. The delegation will never hear anyone from the Opposition side berating members of the Government for going abroad. As many Ministers as possible should be sent on targeted missions to improve not only our image but trade with other countries.