John Perry (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fine Gael)

The Government certainly acknowledges the importance of entrepreneurship, as indicated by my appointment as Minister of State with responsibility for small business. We fully recognise and support the role of the 250,000 small companies in the State which employ 700,000 people. The Government is devising a clear and direct plan for small enterprises which will work with third level colleges and will recognise and support talent. A focused plan will be agreed by Government in the coming weeks which will directly benefit and support small businesses, sole traders and companies employing one or two people.

The main task of this Government is to kick-start the domestic economy, and we fully recognise the role of small companies and entrepreneurs in that regard. I will deal with the allocation of funding in my response to a later question, but it is about ensuring value for money for the supports we provide. County enterprise boards have been very effective in terms of supporting and recognising incubation facilities at third level colleges and so on. The Government's plan fully recognises the role of entrepreneurship in kick-starting the economy.

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