Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)

I would like to speak on the broader issues of the Government's strategy to support businesses, improve competitiveness and sustain employment.

Ensuring that our enterprises receive the support to assist them through the current difficult period is key to safeguarding employment. The Department has been very active in the past year to respond to the difficulties being faced by businesses and there has been a range of supports provided by the enterprise agencies - IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland and the county and city enterprise boards - across a wide range of issues. All of the agencies have re-focussed their strategies to take account of the current economic situation. To address the immediate threats to Irish businesses from the current crisis, new schemes have been introduced, such as the employment subsidy scheme to help retain jobs in our vulnerable exporting companies, and the enterprise stabilisation fund to help protect jobs in our exporting companies hit by current difficulties.

My colleagues and I are also keen to support small and medium size enterprises and I am particularly aware that there is difficulty for some businesses in accessing credit. This issue of concern to many people and has been raised on numerous occasions in this House. The Minister for Finance announced a new credit review system in the budget. The credit review system will examine the credit policies and practices of the banks, particularly for SMEs. This new system will inform Government what further action might be necessary to secure the flow of credit to Irish enterprises and, through publication of the analysis from the review process, help ensure that the performance of the banks participating in NAMA is transparent to all.

There is a credit supply clearing group in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and the establishment of the credit review group by the Minister for Finance shows we are conscious of the need for a flow of credit to small and medium size businesses. There is inherent difficulty in the banking sector itself that has been discussed continually in the House. Primarily, however, the focus must be to ensure we repair the impaired balance sheets of the banks and get lending flowing into small and medium size businesses. The credit review system is critically important in that and will make sure we have a system whereby there can be an independent analysis of the refusal of credit to small and medium size businesses and an appeals process put in place so there is outside adjudication on whether banks are fulfilling their obligations in the context of the previous capitalisation of the banks and any further assistance they might require.

If we think back only a short period, while we are talking about populist issues in the House this evening, we can remember that some parties did not even support the bank guarantee to ensure we underpinned the banking system, which was of critical importance in ensuring the integrity of the financial system and, equally importantly, that we have a banking system that will function when the impaired balance sheets are addressed and recapitalisation is brought to bear and that we have a flow of credit. That debate has been exhausted but it is important to remember it when Deputies opposite, who are concerned about businesses this evening, were not concerned at the time because it was more populist to be against the banks when that was politically expedient.

Enterprise Ireland delivers a wide range of supports to Irish companies targeted at the specific requirements of clients throughout all regions to ensure that they develop to their full potential in terms of innovation and exports which in turn stimulate job creation. Enterprise Ireland, in recognising the significant changes in the current economy both in Ireland and globally, has prepared a recovery strategy to identify the actions that will be undertaken to help clients. The agency has refocused its efforts on strengthening and sustaining companies of strategic importance through a range of initiatives focused on the needs of its client base.

The county and city enterprise boards continue to provide support for small businesses in the start-up and expansion phases. Job creation is an inherent consideration in the activities of the boards. In 2010, the county and city enterprise boards will continue to assist micro-enterprises throughout the country by both direct grant aid to businesses and project promoters and also through the provision of a range of other important business supports such as mentoring, business training and business advice designed to help to stimulate indigenous enterprise creation and to boost employment creation. The Tánaiste reconvened the small business forum in December 2009 and we hope to arrange another meeting in the coming weeks to discuss the needs of the small business sector. We all understand the importance of getting credit flowing and supports such as employment subsidies but other key issues can also be addressed.

I visited Enterprise Ireland's headquarters in East Point today to attend the launch of the 73 companies involved with its new high potential start-ups initiative. These companies demonstrate the innovative and entrepreneurial instinct that remains alive and well in this country. It is important that we highlight the success stories as well as the difficulties faced by our business community if we want to send a better message both domestically and internationally.

Ireland's exports have shown resilience in 2008 and 2009. For our size, Ireland has a disproportionately large share of world trade markets particularly in regard to services. A return to growth in our main trading partners accompanied by a sustained improvement in our own competitiveness should present opportunities for further export growth in existing markets. We are also focused on exploiting the potential of emerging and high growth markets. We are consistently striving to diversify our export profile, exploit our talents and opportunities and guard against overdependence on specific markets. We are developing a new trade strategy but the resulting document will not simply be left on the Department's shelves. It will be a breathing document which will evolve with changing markets and global commerce. We will focus primarily on our traditional markets in the UK, the United States and Europe, as well as Brazil, Russia, India and China, which have huge growth potential. However we face challenges from a weak sterling and struggling US economy.

In the coming months, we will dedicate all our efforts towards promoting innovation and entrepreneurship. We will support the export community, by which we will live or die, so that we will have positive outcomes not only for our exports but also our inward investment.

I would have liked more time to discuss the Bill in detail because I am aware of the difficulties that arise in the wider economy. Rent is one issue but competitiveness in terms of energy and labour costs must also be addressed. We need an honest debate on these issues instead of the populist rhetoric we sometimes hear in this House.

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