Jimmy Devins (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fianna Fail)

While the point is being made to all Members on the ground, this issue is being worked on actively.

The Leader programmes constitute a source of a huge amount of money. The Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Deputy Ó Cuív, recently announced a substantial increase in the funding for the Leader programmes over the next number of years. As for the schools building programme, I remind the Deputy that in the budget this year, funding for the school building programme has been increased from the allocation last year. From memory, I believe the allocation is slightly more than €340 million, which should stimulate some sections of the construction industry. Moreover, FÁS is actively involved in retaining and reskilling construction employees in the green homes and sustainable energy sectors.

Deputy Finian McGrath raised a couple of issues and referred to borrowing for capital expenditure, which the Government is already providing for. The research and development tax credits were increased in the budget from 20% to 25% and constitute an important measure both to attract foreign direct investment and to stimulate indigenous industries to engage in research and development. The Government is very aware that every company, be it a small enterprise with three to five employees, or a large multinational, should be actively considering research and development. As the Minister announced earlier, the innovation voucher, which is worth €5,000 to a small company, can be the lifeline to prevent it from going out of business.

As for the public sector, while the Government is aware of the huge number of great people who work in the public sector, it is also aware there must be public sector reform, which is ongoing at present.

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