Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)

Therefore the need for a comprehensive spending review, including an examination of every programme, has not been created by this Government. With the greatest respect, I must tell the Deputy that the policies pursued in recent years destroyed competitiveness in the economy. The previous Government saw exporting market share fall consistently for six years in a row. It built up unsustainable spending programmes on the basis of revenues that could not last and it undermined the competitiveness of businesses that we are now looking to rebuild our future.

To focus on how much we spend on these agencies is part of the problem of the last Government. We must now ensure that any spending gets maximum impact, which is my first priority. Of course, I will be seeking to expand every programme that is delivering high performance. My Government colleagues, who have set jobs as their top priority, will support that. It does not mean, however, that every programme is immune from scrutiny just because it is under the rubric of an enterprise agency. We must get the best value from them. Perhaps there was not enough scrutiny of the performance of different programmes in the past, but we cannot afford that any more.

The pilot scheme will have to be funded but, as the Deputy knows, these would be normal IDA supports where the return is something like 14 to one in terms of the cost benefit. It is a handsome return to the State.

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