Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate. I am disappointed with the Finance Bill 2010, which, while big in volume, in terms of detail contains nothing new. Although the Bill contains some positive measures, there is no clear thrust to it or clear objective in terms of what the Government is trying to achieve. It is but a reheating of the budget introduced before Christmas. The Bill provides no clear sense of direction in terms of where the Government is going and no focus in regard to job creation, which is hugely disappointing. The mantra of this Government is to cut support to those who cannot work, to take away the opportunity from those who want to work and to force those on low pay out of employment. This Bill does not seek to change any of that.

Where in this Bill is the stimulus plan to turn the economy around, get it off its knees and assist people back into employment? Sadly, the Bill contains no such plan. My constituency, no more than any other, has growing levels of unemployment. Unemployment figures for my constituency have increased by 155% during the past two years. This means that in real terms there are an additional 8,500 people in the counties of Roscommon and Leitrim on the dole queues. In a constituency, which has one of the smallest populations in the country, there are 8,500 additional homes without income. There is nothing in this Bill to kick-start investment or to encourage investment in infrastructure, which is urgently required. There is no investment in our people either.

One in every three men unemployed is under the age of 25. These people are signing on the dole with little prospect of getting a job. While this Bill should have provided some direction or focus in this regard, sadly, it has not been forthcoming. There does not appear to be any direction from Government in this regard. I discussed during the weekend the impact of this legislation on my constituency and county in terms of club football and so on. Many young people who would normally participate in the local club senior team have emigrated to London or further afield. The cores of communities are being decimated. While there were many ills associated with the Celtic tiger in terms of the economy during the past ten years, young people were at least able to remain living in their communities and to get involved in their local sporting and voluntary organisations. Sadly, all they are doing now is taking Ryanair flights out of this country to the UK and further afield. The Finance Bill copperfastens the focus of a budget that has resulted in 75,000 additional people becoming unemployed this year at a cost to the Exchequer of €1.5 billion to be obtained through cuts in social welfare payments and front line services. The lack of focus in this respect is hugely frustrating.

Another issue close to my heart is that of agriculture. I believe, as do many people in the country, that agriculture, which has traditionally been the backbone of the economy, has the ability to lift us out of the mess into which the Government got us. Rather than supporting agriculture and encouraging investment and the development of high quality premium food companies which can be world leaders, of which we have some and can have more with a little encouragement, this Finance Bill copperfastens as announced in the budget the carbon tax on farm diesel, which will have a direct impact on the competitiveness of agriculture and the farming sector. Without the basic raw material to support our food industry, we will not be able to provide the volume of exports needed. Members on this side of the House, the other side and among the wider public have stated that the only way we will get out of this recession is to trade our way out of it. While agriculture is the one sector of the economy that can assist us in trading ourselves out of the mess we are in, the policy has been to dumb down agriculture rather than support and develop it.

Another area touched on in part by Government in this Finance Bill is that of research and development. The Government is putting many of its eggs into this basket in terms of its belief that research and development and the smart economy can get us out of the current mess. There is no doubt that a focused co-ordinated approach can assist us. The report by Mr. Colm McCarthy questions the Government's investment in research and development, the number of PhDs being produced and the benefit of this to the economy. While there has been huge investment in research and development during the past ten years or so, one must question the benefit of this to the economy given the lack of figures in this regard.

A number of years ago, my colleague, Deputy Richard Bruton, and I produced for the Joint Committee on Education and Science a report on science and technology in education, which included a number of detailed and cost effective proposals. As usual, that report is now gathering dust somewhere. One of the recommendations was that a specific Oireachtas committee focused on the issue of science, technology and innovation be established to provide a forum which would allow people involved in this area to defend to Members of the Oireachtas how they spend their money and to explain on what they spend it. Coming from a scientific background, I must question my profession in regard to its lack of business focus. Deputy Michael D. Higgins and I could probably debate some aspects of that. It is important that people involved in R&D set down a finish line in terms of their work, in particular in the science and engineering area. They should not engage in research for research purposes. While it is important we invest in basic research it is also important that the applied research is focused on an end product and that we have credible data to back it up. Sadly, however, that is not provided for. Far too much investment is currently focused on universities driving research, rather than having enough private enterprise involvement focused on having an end product, thus facilitating job creation.

Academic researchers should not purely consider the value of intellectual property, which may inhibit its commercialisation. They should also focus on the impact it can have on stimulating our economy, creating jobs and creating the new multinational companies of tomorrow. I was disappointed that the Minister did not take up the recommendation by the Commission on Taxation on the flexibility of R&D tax credits from private enterprise. The State is putting in investment so it is important to justify and explain exactly how that money is being spent and how it will be of benefit in the short, medium and long term. Private enterprise must also put in its fair share of investment but incentives and structures need to be put in place to facilitate and encourage that to happen.

I acknowledge the sections that encourage skilled professional people to come into the country. The Minister has reintroduced a tax treatment concerning foreign professionals coming into Ireland, but it is only scratching the surface. We will have to examine the matter in a far more detailed and focused manner. Up to now immigration has been perceived as people coming in and taking jobs. There is huge concern at the moment about that, but there is huge potential for immigrants to create new jobs here.

I read a report on Silicon Valley in California, which came about as a result of Asian nationals who moved to the United States and turned that idea into a reality. Last year, we saw the two young lads from Limerick who came up with a very good idea, but they could not get support from Enterprise Ireland. They went to Silicon Valley in the United States where they got venture capital support. That is an indictment of our own development agencies. These sharp young people could not get investment here, so it was better for them to go abroad. We should examine novel ways to compete. We should bring people with ideas into this country instead of putting barriers in their way, which is what we are doing now.

One practical example of this concerns the granting of permission to a non-EU citizen who wants to set up a business here. In order to get permission from the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, they must have €300,000 in their back pocket and must also employ two EU citizens. Otherwise they will not meet the criteria for business permission and as a result their application is refused. According to the latest available figures, some 85% of all such applications were refused. I do not believe that we should allow anyone and everyone to set up a business in every corner of the country. However, if someone has an idea with a sound business base it should be granted business permission. It may only employ one person but it will take that person off the live register and it has a potential in the longer term to create four, five, ten or 12 jobs. The Government should look at the false barriers of red tape that have been created, which inhibit the creation of new employment.

The United States has been the expert front-runner in bringing new people into the economy to create jobs. In 2006, businesses started by immigrants in the USA employed 450,000 people with a turnover of €52 billion. That is €2 billion short of what we will pay out for NAMA. The United States is looking at new ways to attract such smart people because the world has become far more competitive. A new start-up visa system is being developed for those who wish to establish new enterprises in the United States. The authorities are looking at automatically granting visas to people who hold PhD qualifications in science, technology and other innovative areas.

A number of non-EU citizens are currently paying fees to study for doctoral qualifications here. They will then have to go cap in hand to the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform to seek permission to remain in this country. If they want to start up a business they will have to return to the Department again to seek business permission and guarantee that they have €300,000 as well as creating two jobs. That environment needs to change quickly.

We should send out clear and unambiguous information on the type of person we need in Ireland at the moment, as well as the type of supports we want to put in place for them. Information on labour market trends, job skills shortages and oversupply, as well as social welfare restrictions, is available in various Departments in an array of languages. However, it should also be available centrally on the web so that someone considering coming to Ireland will know what the structure is like. In addition, they could know about banking, insurance, the rules of the road and how to get housing. That could act as an advertisement to attract the type of people we badly need in this economy - those who can stimulate and develop small businesses. They would bring new thinking and ideas to our economy, which could nurture the new multinationals of the future, in the same way as Kerry Foods, Intel and Wyeth.

We are not, however, making an effort to cultivate such highly qualified people who have come through our education system and because they do not have an EU passport they are turned away and sent home. After such a significant investment by them and by our universities, it would make sense to hold on to such people and encourage them to stay here, thus helping to turn around the economy which is in a mess at the moment. That could provide some direction in assisting us to get the economy off its knees and begin to create jobs. That is why Fine Gael has set out detailed proposals to put the basic infrastructure in place that is needed in the economy, including water, broadband and energy. The economy will turn around at some stage, whether in six or 12 months, or two years.

It could, however, grind to a halt due to the lack of investment in developing basic infrastructure needed for the new economies of tomorrow. Energy will be crucial to that. My colleague, Deputy Coveney, has set out detailed proposals to ensure that Ireland will be a net exporter of energy in the years ahead, by putting in place infrastructure to create 100,000 jobs in the next four years. We need to have the infrastructure in place in order that we can capitalise on the upturn in the world and European economies. Sadly we have not seen any direction from Government in that area. The only thing Government has done is to ridicule the Opposition proposals to try to stimulate the economy and get it up off its knees. Deputy Bruton has set out in great detail proposals that would support small business by setting up a back-office investment bank that could provide the capital needed to the commercial banks to support businesses that are struggling trying to manage their cash flow. Surely it makes sense to try to support existing jobs rather than letting them go to the wall. We were told at the end of last year that the €54 billion going to NAMA, which my children and their children will need to pay back in coming decades, would bring the injection of capital needed into the economy. We now know that the Minister for Finance had in his back pocket the information from the IMF that totally contradicted that and clearly stated the money would not ensure capital would flow.

It is disappointing that the Minister has missed a golden opportunity with this Finance Bill, which we shall all regret in the long term.

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