James Reilly (Fine Gael)
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Fair enough. On the issue of red tape, it is too late now but perhaps the witnesses could think about it and make a written submission to the committee on how we can reduce it. We would be very interested in being as supportive as possible on that.

I could not agree more about the complexity involved in tendering for SMEs. Some of the complexities are ridiculous for the small amounts of money that are involved. It reminds me of a situation in which there was a tender out for the architectural design of a particular building. We were trying to encourage innovators, new architects and small firms yet one of the stipulations in the terms of reference was that they would already had to have completed a building to the value of greater than €1 million. I would be the first to agree with the witnesses.

I also strongly agree with my colleague, Deputy Neville, when it comes to the banded hours issue. There has to be a balance struck between protecting workers and allowing businesses to get on with business and have flexibility. There is always a small number that abuse. We know that very clearly from the hearings we have held at this committee. I am probably one of the few people here who has worked both sides of the scene. I am an employer as a small SME general practitioner. I run a surgery but I have also been a trade union member so I see both sides of the argument. I emphasise there has to be balance and where there is abuse we have to stamp it out. I am the first to agree with the witnesses that we do not need a sledgehammer to crack a nut and have unforeseen consequences that we do not want to see.

I agree entirely that there needs to be one point of accountability, if we can manage it - and I do not see any reason why we could not - to address all these issues and costs. The Government has shown a lot of coherence in much of what it has done recently. This is another area in which we could make serious progress. The input of the witnesses would be invaluable in that regard.

As for crime in retail, the Government has an extra 800 gardaí going into the system. It will always be a problem and will always be with us. On a lighter note, if one looks at some of the clips on YouTube of what people get up to, the amount of stuff that comes out from underneath their coats is quite extraordinary. That is not to make light of its impact on the retailer because it is very serious. I thank the witnesses and want to leave them in no doubt of our support. We also have to see where the problems are. They have to be addressed from the other side.