Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)

I acknowledge the Minister's comment about innovation. The report that has been published is interesting. However, there is now a slowdown in the economy. That is acknowledged on all sides of the House. If we are to break out of that cycle it is important that we support small entrepreneurial businesses as much as possible. One of the elements of this is the knowledge that is being brought into this country by our migrant community, who are bringing in new ideas and products. However, there are two fundamental barriers to this. The first is the issue of business permission. What steps is the Minister taking, in conjunction with the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, to get rid of the excessively burdensome regulations that currently exist and ensure that decisions on business permission are based on the proposed business idea rather than a bureaucratic process, as is currently the case?

What specific proposals is the Minister introducing to deal with the issue of access to finance? For many migrant entrepreneurs, access to the traditional forms of finance, such as banking institutions, is not open to them.

See this speech in context