Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

That is a fair point. Through Enterprise Ireland's enterprise centre programme, we have allocated significant funding for enterprise. In recent weeks, for instance, we announced a significant raft of decisions in regard to enterprise centres throughout the State, particularly in rural areas and in those counties that may not have had the same success as others in securing foreign direct investment.

In regard to planning, I have encountered individual cases in rural areas, for example, where long established businesses struggle when new planning edicts or frameworks are introduced. Such businesses, which may have been providing as many as 100 jobs for a long period, often have limited capacity to expand other than through the purchase of expensive properties close to a town. I ask planners and local authorities to give greater consideration to the needs of enterprise in this regard. Account should be taken of history and heritage and how these businesses have functioned in communities. These are not fly-by-night entities but people who have been in business for many years and have come under pressure in recent times to move to expand, with significant cost implications.

See this speech in context