Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick East, Labour)

The Taoiseach referred to sums of billions of euro. Many of those who have innovative ideas or are seeking to create jobs require relatively small sums of money. Last week, I spoke to man in my constituency who wants to create jobs for an on-line business. He has been told that while he has been approved for a grant, the city enterprise board ran out of money at the end of April. This is true of enterprise boards around the country. The lethargic response of the Government is not good enough for individuals who want to create jobs immediately. Are options available to the individual to whom I referred to secure funding to create employment and develop the business he has established?

The chairman of a previous task force established following the loss of jobs at Dell, Mr. Denis Brosnan, publicly stated that none of the recommendations produced in his report had been implemented. Have any of his specific recommendations been implemented since Mr. Brosnan made a public statement on the matter a few months ago? One recommendation related to the Lynx Cargo project in Shannon Airport, for which only €7 million was required. Has progress been made on that project? We, in the Chamber, can waffle all day but what we need are specific responses to specific proposals made by specific task forces on specific innovators.

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