Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)

They certainly do not create sustainable jobs but they have the potential to create the environment in which businesses create jobs. Equally, they have had and have the potential to create an environment in which unsustainable economic policies undermine businesses.

Let me dwell on the concept of the one-stop shop. My experience of local authorities and county enterprise boards is that there are the good, the bad and the indifferent. We cannot afford the bad or the indifferent in regard to the one-stop shop; we need to be ruthless in appointing its staff. The staff need to be proactive in offering assistance to enterprises. In 2012, the environment for the retail sector will be really difficult. Those employed in the one-stop shops need to be proactive and to talk to those businesses in difficulty. Many businessmen have not taken a penny out of their businesses in recent years and are teetering on the brink of collapse. It is critical to ensure proactive State supports rather than wait for somebody to arrive with a new idea.

Deputy Keaveney outlined how cheated the aforementioned businessmen are by the social welfare code. They discover that if their businesses fail, in spite of their having provided gainful employment for themselves and their employees, they are left with nothing while the employees are covered by their PRSI contributions. We need to reform the social welfare code to deal with this.

Credit is critical to economic recovery. There is a real danger that our economic recovery will be substantially creditless. Many businesses cannot obtain finance for starting up, development and growth. Working capital has been withdrawn. Notwithstanding that we have invested billions of euro in revenue in the covered institutions, there is no evidence that businesses are being assisted proactively by banks to contribute to economic recovery. There needs to be regular monitoring and dialogue with the covered institutions to ensure they deliver on their side of the bargain.

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