Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)

I thank the Minister for her reply. Is it not time to start afresh with new thinking? For example, can we not eliminate all the lead-in times for the determination of eligibility for the back to work allowance scheme, the back to work enterprise allowance scheme and the back to education scheme? We should get rid of the lead-in times or reduce them to three months. The Minister heard a man from Dundalk refer on "Primetime" last night to what I have spoken about for the past few months. The lead-in times and such measures should be eliminated. New thinking is required.

SR Technics is seeking €25 million for a management buyout. Nine hundred jobs multiplied by €20,000 per job amounts to €18 million. This does not take into account secondary benefits and the 60% the Department will have to contribute for redundancy payments. If these were taken into account along with the loss of spending power in which the loss of 900 jobs would result, the cost would amount to approximately €40 million. It therefore makes good economic sense to invest €25 million in this necessary industry. We need aviation and aeronautical engineering and technology and the 900 employees have the necessary skills. Why would an island nation do away an industry in which these people are needed? Let us start thinking outside the box. If we invested the €25 million we would have 900 people at work. The Minister should start thinking in this way.

Consider the issue of VAT on insulation materials. Some 40% of our housing stock was built prior to 1963 and virtually none of the houses in this category is insulated. While there is an insulation scheme worth €300 million, it is negligible. Windows and doors need to be included, not just insulation. VAT must be removed from insulation products.

If the Minister got a job tomorrow, she would be involved with the VAT regime as soon as she had a turnover of €37,500. A rate of 21.5% or 13.5% applies if one is supplying services. If one's turnover is over €70,000, the same provisions apply. The threshold of €37,000 should be increased to €60,000 or €70,000 while the €70,000 threshold should be increased to €140,000. Let us be innovative. The Exchequer is losing money at present and the addition of people to the unemployment list is costing the State a huge amount. I would say the Minister of State, Deputy McGuinness, agrees with me. I know he is examining county enterprise boards but he should do so quickly. We heard last night about micro-enterprises and these must be borne in mind. Some 750,000 are employed by 250,000 small and medium enterprises.

The Minister is working with Mr. Barry O'Leary, Mr. Frank Ryan and others, which is great, but she knows the difficulties that exist and that there is a lead-in time of a year and a half or two years. People are now willing to start up enterprises. The Minister, who is a rural person like myself and knows what I am talking about, realises such jobs comprise the structural fabric of rural Ireland. We need them and should start thinking outside the box.

See this speech in context