Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)

I commend Deputy Varadkar on bringing forward the Bill. I am delighted he has a keen interest in small and medium-sized enterprises because, as Deputy Neville said, they are the backbone of the economy. There are approximately 250,000 small and medium-sized enterprises in Ireland employing approximately 800,000 people. Unfortunately, the latest live register figures show there has been a 94% increase in the number signing on. Many of the 400,000 signing on were employed in small and medium-sized enterprises. The closure of many small industries has gone unnoticed by the media and often is not reported. Only large company closures are reported. Some 35% of small and medium-sized enterprises expect redundancies at a level of 20% in the next three months. Many of the workers in the companies involved have already taken pay cuts and the companies are barely ticking over. More of them will go to the wall because they cannot get access to credit.

In my constituency of Clare 25 to 30 small retail units in Ennis have closed in the past 12 months. Following the figures announced yesterday, I note there are 9,688 people employed in the county. Some are employed in the construction sector and service industries, but many are employed in small and medium-sized enterprises. Many architects, engineers, auctioneers, solicitors and those involved in retail shopping units are already working short-time hours and have taken pay cuts. How often have we seen retail units lying idle, many of which have never been occupied? An employee in an auctioneer's office told me the other day that there were two in her house working, that she worked for an auctioneer and that her husband was employed in the public sector, but since last October their disposable income has been reduced by €700 a month, which effectively means they are paying a second mortgage every month to bail out the bankers who created this crisis.

We must get the banks to start lending again. Businesses are starved of credit. That is the reason Fine Gael has proposed the establishment of a national recovery bank which would buy good debts from the guaranteed banks, thereby providing them with the capital they need to cover their losses and bad loans and free up their resources to enable them to lend again. Many small businesses are already finding it difficult to access capital and face further financial difficulties in trying to recover small debts. Deputy Varadkar's Bill is important because he has inserted a provision to provide that any debts not exceeding €3,000 could be dealt with by the Small Claims Court. That is an important measure. Currently, only consumers can use this court. This measure would alleviate some of the problems many small businesses are experiencing in trying to recover debts.

Other issues were raised, including those related to VAT and a freezing of local authority rates. They must be taken on board. I hope many of the new local authority members will do so before the end of the year.

I urge the Minister to examine the cutback of funding for Skillnet companies. Many companies testify to the value of that network model which delivers relevant training but which also provides crucial support for companies, their owners and employees. Many Skillnet participants may lose their jobs as the recession deepens, but rather than segregating the unemployed, they should be integrated through enterprise-led training and allowed to participate alongside people already in employment.

I welcome Deputy Varadkar's Bill and I am delighted the Government has indicated it will accept it.

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