Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

I thank Deputy Varadkar for bringing this motion before the House. Despite the distractions we have had in politics in recent weeks, the key issue for people in their homes today is jobs.

As my speaking time is short, I want to focus on two points. First, I wish to deal with assistance programmes and structures for small businesses that are struggling. I was involved in launching a small business support scheme in Cork last November which put together a panel of approximately 40 business volunteers who are acting as advisers and mentors to small businesses seeking help at present. In three months, more than 50 companies have received advice and assistance through this scheme.

This is the kind of work the Government should be doing. Across the country, there are thousands of SMEs which have never before had to deal with recession. They do not know how to change their business plans and deal with staffing issues, debt issues, communications with banks and so on. They need advice and they need it for free. Despite this, we are not changing the structures of delivery that the State has in place to help small businesses in such situations.

We are still sticking with the same structures we had in place during the Celtic tiger years and that is not good enough. The various Government speakers tonight spoke about budgets that are being spent in different areas and schemes which are being expanded. What we need is new thinking, new and efficient ways of delivering that give better value for money, and better results for the money put in but this is not happening.

The second issue is Fine Gael's big idea, which we have been trying to promote for more than a year and which is titled, NewERA. It is a stimulus package which focuses on building new infrastructure, something which is not being delivered, despite the comments of the Tánaiste last night and what I expect the Minister will say in a few minutes time about broadband delivery and so on. We are not building the new infrastructure that is needed to be the arteries for development and progress and change over the next five, ten, 15 or 20 years. It is not happening quickly enough. Instead of spending more money on broken structures in the plan to deliver better water infrastructure, let us look at how we are delivering that infrastructure and those services and change the way we do it. We need to modernise through reform in the semi-State sector.

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