Mr. Sean Murphy:

On the question of training, which is covered in the pre-budget submission, businesses pay a compulsory levy of 0.7% of payroll to the national training fund, which generates €330 million. This is a significant amount, yet the small and medium-sized enterprises that pay for it receive limited access to it. I assure members that this will be reflected in our pre-budget submission. Half of the €330 million figure should be specifically earmarked for owner-managers and their management teams to help them upskill. The major challenge is that a relatively small number of firms are involved in the export business and many of them are companies established through foreign direct investment. Chocolatiers and so forth also export their products, but the vast majority of companies are domestically focused. Training funds should be earmarked to assist companies seeking to export their products. As far as our members are concerned, they do not receive any return on the levy on salaries they pay to the national training fund. This money is washed into SOLAS and FÁS and does not come back to companies. Our message is that half of the national training fund should be earmarked specifically for owner-managers and their management teams and staff for use in retraining. While we want the unemployed to continue to receive retraining, ultimately it is viable firms producing viable jobs and taxes upon which the economy is built.