Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)

I thank and congratulate the Labour Party for putting down this motion which deals with a serious issue, one which the Government, however, has not yet realised. Question Time and other Private Members' business has been devoted to the problems faced by small businesses and the threat to jobs, yet there is still no action or plan from the Government. This is an emergency. Serious problems are faced by small businesses. They cannot get cash or credit from the banks. Access to credit, overdraft facilities and short-term loans are an important tool for business. Without them, business cannot function. Unless one is in a cash-rich business, there is a time delay in getting payments for products but the Government still has not realised this.

I hope the Minister of State, Deputy Martin Mansergh, will get this through to the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment. She has not a clue as to what is going on. Last week on Question Time, it was as if she was on cloud-cuckoo-land. The Minister for Finance also seems to be unaware of these problems. Last night he stated, "The banks are very conscious of what is expected of them under the guarantee in so far as business lending is concerned." Are the banks conscious of it? The banks are not even conscious let alone conscious of what they are doing. They are not making money available to small businesses. Businesses that have been in operation for up to 50 years, returned profits and survived through thick and thin have had their overdraft facilities slashed, getting no access to credit and, if they do, it is at a high cost with terms and conditions that are not manageable. Meanwhile, Ministers come into the Chamber, smile, talk and glide through it all. They have no real awareness of the major problems faced by small businesses.

This will all hit home in January and February when the numbers on the live register go way up. Small businesses employ the majority of the workforce. The two or three employed in one business and the seven or eight employed in another, when combined, make up to 800,000 people, according to one Minister last night. Many of these jobs will be gone in the new year because businesses will not be able to continue unless some real action is taken.

There was nothing new in any of the ministerial speeches from last night. The Minister for Finance claimed, "financial supports focus on supporting start-ups". That is the key to the problem. We need a change of policy that will focus grants and supports on job protection to keep what we have. While we want to see more job creation, it must be acknowledged we have a duty to protect the jobs we already have and keep small businesses alive. Last week I asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment to examine these matters. I do not believe she has.

Apart from making money available, there are other services the Government can provide for small businesses to get them through these difficulties. The UK Government introduced a free company health check through its Business Link service. It covers areas such as effective invoice-chasing, debt management, credit insurance, maximising cash flow, marketing and business plans. I asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment about providing such a service to our small businesses and she looked at me as if I was making it up.

Small firms have been busy trying to grow their businesses. Any encouragement they received from State agencies was to develop and market new products. They were not given the other tools they needed to do business such as proper cost accounting, debt management, invoice-chasing and so forth. Will the Government make available professional advice to small businesses to guide and help them through these tough times? Accountants are often seen as watchdogs for the Revenue. That is not good enough. Accountants are well-trained to help guide businesses through these current economic circumstances. They, and other services such as the county enterprise boards, should be paid by the Government to do this. The Government has a duty and responsibility to step in and assist businesses with the help and advice they need. I want the Government to study and copy the UK Business Link system and others to help small businesses to survive through 2009. If it does not, many jobs will be lost.

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