Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

The Ahead of the Curve industrial policy review provided confirmation that we have small and big businesses. More than 800,000 members of the 2 million workforce are employed in small and medium size enterprises, the great majority of which are indigenous. I introduced proposals in the most recent budget to comprehensively overhaul the business expansion and seed capital schemes to ensure investment is directed into areas that will create entrepreneurship and more jobs and increase skills. The research and development tax credit is applicable to small companies and other businesses.

Although an important factor and one I will continue to defend, our low tax rate is not the only reason foreign direct investment is attracted here. The question of what attracts FDI to a particular country is a complex one and a range of factors explain the reason Ireland is attractive. They include our English speaking, skilled labour force, on which we continue to work and have a strategy to improve, a flexible market, ease of access and proximity to the European mainland, membership of the European Union and access to its markets, membership of the euro area, a pro-business outlook, political stability and social partnership.

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