Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)

I thank the Deputies who tabled this motion, on which we have heard an interesting range of contributions. It would be impossible to do justice to all that people have said.

As pointed out by Deputy Halligan, it must be recognised that the Government inherited an appalling situation from the previous Government. We are spending 40% more than we are raising in revenue. That is the reason we do not have options involving an easy fiscal stimulus. We are already spending vastly more than we take in. We cannot borrow from anywhere but one source, namely, the EU and IMF. The previous Government's policy resulted in the collapse of the banks and public finances, the loss of 350,000 jobs and a collapse in our competitiveness. Previously, we were the fourth most competitive economy. We have now slumped to 29th position. We lost 31% in our cost competitiveness in export markets. For six years in a row, we lost export market share. That is the recipe of economic collapse created by the previous Government and inherited by this Government.

There has a been a decisive shift in emphasis. This Government has not been all about nursing along the bad loans of the past or about fixing the public finances. The first action of this Government was a decisive shift in the tone and direction of debate through the introduction of a jobs initiative. Deputy Wallace acknowledged that the VAT cut has had an impact. Other people have told me the PRSI cut has also had an impact. Despite the criticism of JobBridge, 4,000 employers are now offering quality employment. I recently visited VMware in Cork, a significant multinational company which is not alone taking on people from this scheme but is investing €15,000 of its own money in training them. This should, because of the nature of the enterprise - cloud computing - guarantee them a job either with VMware or another company.

It is not true to say that this Government has been continuing on with what the previous Government did. We have restructured the banks. We have created pillar banks that have loan to deposit ratios, that are recapitalised and are in a position to lend. However, as Deputy Wallace said, that does not mean they are lending. We are confronting that issue, in part by setting targets, which, disappointingly, the banks have not been hitting, and by deliberate interventions. We will shortly be producing a temporary partial loan guarantee scheme to address the type of needs referred to by Deputy Wallace, namely, the person trying to set up a business but who cannot get €40,000 to do so. This scheme will not be finalised until later in the year. The constituent to whom Deputy Wallace referred could have gone to the credit review office of John Trethowan who is overturning half of the banks' decisions in respect of loan refusal in such situations. There is a need to confront the banks. Deputy Wallace or others should advise the person concerned to do that.

We will also shortly be introducing a micro-finance scheme which will be open to small start-ups who cannot get access to funding. Micro-finance is available in most European countries but not in Ireland. It will fill a gap. There are continuing problems in terms of people accessing credit, which we need to address and in respect of which we need to develop a policy. We are only six months in office. The banks have been cleansed of much of the material that needed to be disposed of, namely, external overseas loans. We now need to manage our banking system into a position whereby it can lend leading to export-led recovery.

I recently visited the United States. Bankers there often refer to themselves as bankers whose expertise is in lending into the green economy. These banks specialise in that area, know how the sector works, understand the dynamic of it and invest in and lend to companies that can build a future in that area. We do not have that level of expertise or hands-on ability within our banking structure. We will have to rebuild that. That is part of the transformation that has to happen if we are to have a banking system that is fit to drive a small open economy seeking to expand its export performance.

A number of speakers said that this Government is all about cutting costs. Governments do not create jobs. We need long-term viable enterprises to create sustainable jobs. When a Government spends 40% more than it raises in revenue, it is not in a position to put people back to work through massive spending schemes, as suggested by Deputy Boyd Barrett. Such an option is not at the disposal of a Government that has had to go to the lender of last resort to keep the show on the road.

Instead, we must concentrate on how we can build a strong export-led recovery and confidence in our economy so that those who could invest will invest in it. This is the challenge we face. The first step is to get cost competitive. Anyone who pretends Ireland is sufficiently cost competitive is fooling himself. The National Competitiveness Council has stated that in business costs such as water and waste Ireland is one of the most expensive countries. A heap of services, many of which are provided by the public sector, need to become competitive.

A change in this regard is starting, nonetheless. The National Competitiveness Council reported recently costs are improving with Ireland now 10% more competitive that it was two years ago. A turnaround is happening with exports strong over the past two years and market share is being rebuilt by young dynamic companies. There was an increase of 50% in the number employed in high potential start-up companies supported by Enterprise Ireland in the first half of this year.

While the Deputies opposite might be right in claiming the jobs initiative is not enough to restore full employment, this is all about rebuilding confidence in the economy. Other countries will admit Ireland is confronting its public finances. The Government has renegotiated the bailout deal with the EU which makes the debt sustainability much stronger as we are not paying exorbitant interest rates for the moneys on which we rely. The most creative and dynamic multinationals are choosing Ireland as the place to do business, as seen in yesterday's jobs announcement from Twitter and today's from Dun and Bradstreet.

I share Deputy Pringle's concern that Irish companies are not sufficiently accessing new export markets. Returning to the Department after 14 years, I was disappointed to learn the share of Irish indigenous exports has not increased since 1997, remaining at 10% of total exports. We need to drive these companies. This will involve securing finance for them so they do not have to sell off because they have hit their ceiling and cannot expand.

I am not understating the scale of the challenge that faces us. I agree with Deputy Boyd Barrett that as a society we must decide employment is our priority. It will, however, be driven by enterprise and not a free-spending strategy from the Government. We cannot afford such a scheme in the first place and in any event they tend not to work. We must rebuild a strong enterprise economy that is more creative, competitive and effective in winning and opening markets. The Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs is addressing these areas. The Ministers of State at my Department, Deputies Perry and Sherlock, are focusing on small business and innovation. I believe, with much effort and patience, we can turn this economy around. We can create the strategy to change the economy around, one based on prudent management of our resources, a willingness to reform the way public resources are managed and driving enterprise and creativity through every sector.

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