Andrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael)

I thank Deputy Perry for tabling this Private Members motion. In August an Irish rural study symposium hosted by the departments of food and business development of UCC and Teagasc identified 54 distinct local economies in the country, not five or six. Given the statistics, which speak for themselves and show that 80,000 small businesses employ, on average, ten people, it is fair to assume that most of the 54 local economies are underpinned in the main by small businesses rather than by large foreign direct investments. The Government's ongoing love affair with the latter - trading and investing in a smart economy - can produce a relatively small number of high-end jobs that are very well paid while we still have high unemployment. We need to develop a smart way of developing an economy, but not necessarily by developing only a so-called smart economy.

In the short time I have I shall concentrate on the agrifood sector. When the food harvest document was produced, the Taoiseach said: "At a time perhaps in the last decade when we have seen employment reduced by 1,500 in the agri-food sector, we now see a prospect of 3 500 to 4 000 jobs being created by 2020". He was entirely correct but I believe he underestimated the figure. The report envisages our agrifood exports growing from €7 billion to €12 billion, bringing an increased revenue to the country of €5 billion with all the associated employment, tax revenue and goodwill generated in the economy. It would have an enormous impact.

In Food Harvest 2020 and in the Pathways for Growth report commissioned by Bord Bia with the Harvard Business School, a mix of small and large businesses was identified. We must support these in a loan guarantee scheme. People who established food businesses in the 1980s will report that the IDA at the time provided small grants and guaranteed loans from the ACC and ICC, in particular the latter, which allowed companies get off the ground. If the loans are properly stress tested by agencies such as the county enterprise boards and Enterprise Ireland, the failure rate, and there will be one, need only be very small. We must embrace the view that we need a loan guarantee scheme based on the fundamentals outlined by Deputy Perry. If we are serious about trying to get things moving, this is a very small signal that could be sent.

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