John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)

Let us recognise where we are going with it and get back and work with them. Let us also recognise the fact that 55% of those who come to enterprise boards are women creating new companies and jobs.

There was a promotion recently through a mobile unit that went out to different counties. That mobile unit generated 1,000 new queries in the current economic situation. That is not me telling the House, but business people saying the environment we created for them to work in over the last ten to 15 years is working for them. They are able to operate in it, although there are issues on competitiveness which we have to address.

Having done all that for enterprise, the public sector needs to do something. I ask the public sector to adopt the same ISO9000 accreditation businesses have to adopt. There should be a pay freeze in certain sectors among those that can afford it.

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