Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)

I take the point the Deputy is raising. We are being imaginative in ensuring there is a micro-finance fund for small businesses. The new partial credit guarantee scheme is designed to help the SME sector. If one talks about the direct subsidisation of a business - I take the point made by the Deputy on the encouragement or retention of employment within existing businesses - one must be mindful of the consequences. Where there are two companies trading in the same sector, one thriving and the other not, and one supports directly the one that is not thriving, one must realise there are permutations regarding State aid rules on direct subsidisation. We are, therefore, seeking to create the types of programmes to which all businesses will be able to subscribe, such that we can try to retain employment.

In the two types of businesses to which the Deputy alludes, the phenomenon he described could be seen a consequence of a direct drop in consumer demand, which is having a major impact. We must also factor that into the equation. The Deputy's point is well made but we are trying to address the problem through programme supports and direct-credit supports for companies that are thriving and will survive.

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