Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

Many of the great advances in our economy and the social progress they have enabled have come from the recognition that the State should play the role of enabler rather than controller. Regulation is an important part of this, where we have to seek a balance between regulation necessary to protect consumers and employees and the light hand required to let those who create employment get on with their business. While there are some who object to any regulation, the facts show that the overall level of regulation in Ireland is relatively low according to international benchmarks. However, it is an area of ongoing interest to business and it is where we can draw new sources of competitiveness. A good example is the Government's increase in the audit exemption limits, which is estimated to have saved business between €10 million and €20 million.

The immediate priority areas for the group established under the Secretary General in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment are taxation returns, health and safety requirements, statistical requirements, environmental legislation and employment and company law. That group is already working on specific proposals and is addressing these areas as a priority. We have also prepared a toolkit for use in conducting regulatory impact assessments which includes a specific section on assessing the impact of any proposed new regulations on small business.

We must push forward with regulatory oversight which is strong enough to achieve its objective but light enough not to hinder competitiveness. Good examples of progress, unacknowledged by Fine Gael, include compliance with good manufacturing practice inspections by the Irish Medicines Board which gives Irish companies a key competitive advantage against industries in other regions around the world. A forthcoming Forfás report will show that no pharmaceutical manufacturing site in Ireland has received a warning from a regulatory body in the past ten years, which is an outstanding performance and a major tribute to the manufacturing excellence of workers in our facilities. Can some Member of the Opposition acknowledge that Ireland is world class in manufacturing? Why must they knock it all the time, try to undermine it and pretend it is not happening? We should celebrate and acknowledge it.

However, we must keep pushing forward and we will do so, especially in the task of building an appreciation of the needs of enterprise into the work of the public service. We can and must strive to embrace innovation in the public service. Ringing condemnation of the public service will achieve nothing. I suggest that some of the Opposition commentary is fine in a rhetorical sense but pretty useless in terms of advancing any policy agenda with the public sector.

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