Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)

I am pleased to have an opportunity to speak during this debate. I welcome the announcement made by the Minister for Finance yesterday. It is a long time since this House spoke positively about jobs. That we are doing so now should be welcomed. Deputies on the Opposition and Government benches need to place a far greater focus on jobs as we go forward. The Opposition claims that the Government is not dedicating enough funds to the programme, while at the same time criticising the source of the funds being allocated to the programme.

The Minister for Finance made it clear yesterday that the Government was taking its first steps to start creating jobs. We accept that much more can be done that does not involve new funding but requires a change in the approach that has been taken up to now. In far too many cases, we have had a jobs barricade because bureaucracy and red tape are stalling job creation and retention. The Minister for Justice and Equality addressed one of those areas today when he spoke about the visa waiver scheme. That is just one example. I could mention numerous examples of barriers to employment that have been created in the Department of Social Protection and elsewhere.

Many jobs in small businesses are going to the wall as a result of a lack of prompt payments. The current average delay for payment is 74 days, which is having a direct impact on the cash flow and credit of small businesses. A small business in my constituency is on its knees because a State-appointed contractor is using every possible loophole to avoid paying its subcontractors. The business in question is owed €300,000, whereas its liabilities are just €50,000, but it is under serious financial threat because it cannot get the money it needs. Some of the moneys in question are owed by the Revenue Commissioners. Delays of up to six months can be experienced when one tries to get a refund from the Revenue Commissioners. In another case, one arm of Revenue is demanding €1,150 from a business even though another arm of Revenue owes €7,000 to the same business.

The problems to which I refer do not just relate to the Revenue Commissioners. Serious blockages are also being encountered with NAMA. I am aware of businesses in my constituency that are waiting to expand or be established, but are left in limbo because no clear decisions are being made by NAMA. They are in economic purgatory because NAMA is not telling them "Yes" or "No". At the same time, properties in many urban areas are getting dilapidated and are becoming a blight on their communities. Equally, the creation of jobs and the completion of developments is being delayed. In cases where a clear proposal or offer is on the table and employment is being directly affected, surely it makes sense for NAMA to be decisive and to sell the property, dispose of it in some other way or do something else with it.

While I am speaking about employment and development, I say that something needs to be done to deal with alien objectors to developments. I refer to people who submit objections to developments even though they have no association with the community in question. I have no difficulty with those who object to developments that would have a direct or indirect effect on them. Such people have a legitimate right to object to such development. I am aware of many cases in which people from the far end of the country, who have no connection to the area in question, lodged vexatious objections purely to delay a project. In some cases, they did so because they did not want a competitor's operation to get up and running. Something needs to be done about that kind of obstruction of developments that would have a clear jobs benefit for the local community.

The Garda vetting office was raised on the Order of Business this morning. I cannot understand the logic that requires a separate Garda clearance to work in a job similar to one for which a person already got Garda clearance. Every time one applies for a job, one has to submit a new application for clearance. Similar difficulties are being encountered by sporting organisations. If one is dealing with separate senior and minor boards within a single club, or separate hurling and football sections of the same club, one has to submit two separate applications to the Garda vetting unit to get clearance. Surely something can be done to streamline that process. If one is cleared to work with young people, one should be allowed to proceed from there.

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