Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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On behalf of the committee, I extend céad míle fáilte - 100,000 welcomes, as we say in Ireland - to Mr. Daniel Calleja Crespo, Director General for Enterprise and Industry at the European Commission. We are delighted that he was able to accept our invitation to come to Dublin. I also welcome Mr. Stephane Lebrun, head of unit at the Directorate General of Enterprise and Industry, and Ms Barbara Nolan, head of representation of the European Commission in Ireland, whom we have met before on several occasions.

When we visited Brussels in January, we discussed a range of EU policy issues within the joint committee's remit, including access to finance for Irish small and medium enterprises, Horizon 2020, the EU semester process and relations between national parliaments and the EU institutions. Mr. Calleja Crespo's visit here is a result of our meeting with him in Brussels and is a further step in strengthening relations between our Parliament and the EU institutions.

As mentioned, eight members of this joint committee travelled on that occasion and found it very worthwhile and informative. We are in a better position to engage with EU institutions as a result and we will inform our colleagues on other committees that they should do likewise. I know that Mr. Calleja Crespo is encouraging such initiatives.
As part of its work programme for 2014, the joint committee has, in recent months, examined the issue of access to finance for small and medium enterprises, SMEs, in light of growing concerns in the sector that such access is extremely difficult to achieve. We have engaged with a wide range of stakeholders to elicit their views and have thus gained valuable insights into the current situation relating to access to finance for SMEs. We have examined initiatives to assist SMEs that have emerged since the banking crisis. Difficulty accessing finance has had an impact on entrepreneurship and growth. The joint committee has also heard presentations on alternative sources of funding, such as crowd funding. We intend to compile a report with recommendations on policy initiatives to support SMEs in Ireland and throughout Europe. We hope this report will be completed in July.
This meeting today will provide an opportunity to engage further with these issues. In particular, we will discuss what Europe is doing to support SMEs as it is widely acknowledged they contribute substantially to employment growth and economic prosperity. SMEs have a vital role to play in the economic recovery of Ireland and Europe. Access to finance is crucial for the survival of SMEs and therefore we must ensure everything possible is done to create and maintain an environment supportive of this vital sector of our economy.
I wish to advise that by virtue of section 17(2)(l) of the Defamation Act 2009, witnesses are protected by absolute privilege in respect of their evidence to the committee. If witnesses are directed by the committee to cease giving evidence on a particular matter and they continue to do so, they are entitled thereafter only to a qualified privilege in respect of their evidence. Witnesses are directed that only evidence connected with the subject matter of these proceedings is to be given and they are asked to respect the parliamentary practice to the effect that, where possible, they should not criticise or make charges against any person, persons or entity by name or in such a way as to make him, her or it identifiable.
A short meeting between Mr. Calleja Crespo and the Taoiseach is scheduled for 2 p.m. so this meeting will end at 1.55 p.m. There will be time to engage over lunch if the Taoiseach releases Mr. Calleja Crespo.