Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)

Everyone agrees growth is the key to recovery; just yesterday the Taoiseach made that point in this House. We are asking what will stimulate growth, and central to that are jobs, not just job creation, but job retention as well. We have not been paying enough attention to job retention and we have seen small businesses going out of business needlessly, when injections of small amounts of capital would have prevented that. I hope this Bill will provide the practical support to allow banks and credit institutions to do this.

We all know of small businesses, many in families for generations, that are part of the fabric of the community that have had to close. Apart from the effect on business and employment, there is a demoralising effect on the community when people are looking at a boarded up premises that was once a thriving business. These premises also bring another problem; they become targets for vandalism.

Over the years we have seen the banks use marketing slogans to give the impression that they are friendly, supportive and available. Unfortunately that was true for the bigger businesses, multinational corporations and developers, where prudence and caution were replaced by reckless abandon, which led to disastrous consequences as a result of the lack of good governance. I would not get into a car without brakes but that seems to be how the banks functioned. They went on and on and on but never helped those who might have been able to stay in business if even a small proportion of this capital had been directed towards them.

I was alarmed to read the press release from the Simon Community some days ago that reported an increase in the number of former business owners who are now homeless. The figure was 2% during the boom but it has now increased to 4%. It is a small number but the fact it has doubled is significant. No one wants to see that number increase. This shows how homelessness can happen to anyone. The Wall Street Crash and Great Depression show us many examples of this.

The Simon Community pointed out that the steps from unemployment to homelessness can be gradual and take years. We are only now seeing business people affected by the crash becoming homeless. With the loss of employment and businesses come the loss of homes and, significantly, loss of confidence and self esteem, with resulting effects on health. For some we see a drift into alcohol and drug dependency. For each of those people, there are other people, families, friends and employees, who are also affected and I hope this Bill will do something to prevent those journeys.

During the debate on the second referendum on the Lisbon treaty, we were practically brainwashed that voting "Yes" equated with voting for jobs. That did not happen, instead there was an increase in unemployment. Current unemployment figures would be even higher were it not for emigration. In the lead up to the referendum on the fiscal treaty, the "Yes" campaign consistently refers to the need to increase confidence in the euro to increase foreign investment in Ireland. That is fine but I have seen an email from the American embassy in the past day on a conference the ambassador is hosting in June called "Levelling the Playing Field - Strengthening Ireland's Competitiveness" and it is being addressed by various well known figures. The blurb makes the point about diversity and opportunity being key drivers of economic recovery and the importance of ideas and innovation for Ireland to be a strong competitor. On the foreign investment line, there have been examples of foreign investment where jobs were created that were beneficial to the local communities where the businesses were located. Sometimes, however, we place too much focus on the foreign investment to the detriment of domestic business. Foreign investment can be sporadic and inconsistent. How much do these foreign companies contribute to the economy? Our corporate tax rate is low, which attracts them in. I do not believe an increase of even 1% would be a deterrent and I have my doubts that we are collecting all of the 12.5%. It also does not prevent foreign investors from high-tailing it when it suits them.

Small and medium enterprises, however, create sustainable employment for local people and use local expertise. The Governments says it is doing what it can to make business life here easier but small and medium enterprises are being crippled by austerity measures. Most struggling businesses agree that the cost of doing business has been increasing. There is no doubt that upward only rents have been an absolute scourge to small business. In times of recession, it is incredible this cannot be altered. I know there are legal obstacles but surely the law exists to serve the people, not to inhibit them from living full lives. There are businesses that would exist today if there had been greater accommodation on the rent issue. I cannot understand how getting no rent is better than getting some rent.

Comparable businesses in other countries are aghast at the rents small businesses must pay here. Commercial rates are also a heavy burden on small, struggling businesses. Surely it makes sense to be accommodating to prevent a business from closing. An ISME survey published last year showed that one third of small businesses are unable to pay rates. In times of recession we increase costs and the recent increases in gas and electricity prices have added to the pressures on small businesses.

A phenomenal amount of money is spent annually on public procurement. This is an important market to which small and medium sized businesses should have access. However, the tendering process tends to favour larger companies which have greater resources. The system is rather bureaucratic, costly and time-consuming. There is a basic unfairness in this area and it results in the squeezing out of small businesses. This is partly a result of agencies bundling contracts and using only a limited number of suppliers. Usually multinationals and large companies do this as well. There is a need for improved public procurement policy to encourage more involvement of small and medium sized enterprises.

One particular segment of the small and medium sized business sector is the printing industry. This area involves many small, long-established businesses which are under severe pressure. Several have closed recently. The Government and previous one could have done a good deal more to ensure the printing business could survive in this country. We should be fair to businesses in this country. I have heard of soccer, rugby and GAA ticket contracts worth €1 million in total being printed abroad. There will probably always be someone abroad who will do things cheaper. This is because rates, rent, service charges, etc. are cheaper abroad. If the economy is to survive, however, and if we wish to stem the increase in unemployment, we must hold on to the jobs already in place here. I know of printers who had invested heavily in new machinery to secure contracts but they were unable to secure them. Quality or ability to do the job were not the issue and, therefore, price was the only issue.

There should be an opportunity for negotiations to keep contracts in the country and to keep jobs here. Recently, large tenders involving the Courts Service and the Garda Ombudsman went to the North. We must concentrate on our businesses here. The loss of revenue to the State as a result of those companies sending printing requirements out of the country is no wonder. An issue arose during the last election whereby certain posters and literature carried the imprint of a name and address in Dublin. However, when people investigated the matter, it turned out that the printer was not based in Dublin or in Ireland. Certain parties sent work abroad but gave the impression that they were giving to work to printing companies in this country. Magazines and books are not being printed here but are being sent for publication in England, Spain and even to China instead.

There is a need for positive discrimination in favour of Irish businesses and jobs. I have seen many examples of entrepreneurship during my teaching career, involving young people with great ideas and great innovation. Mini-companies have been set up by young entrepreneurs and young scientists and so on. The Minister of State, Deputy Sherlock, envisages great potential in the social enterprise and entrepreneurship areas. Science Foundation Ireland is funding a vast amount of research. Dublin has been recognised as the European city of science for 2012 and a major forum is due to take place here in July. This is another potential area for employment. Other positives include the micro-finance fund and the development capital scheme. There is a need to consider upskilling as well.

The late payment of invoices is also an issue for smaller businesses. They are not being paid on time by larger businesses. There are examples of larger businesses leaving the country to secure lucrative contracts abroad while smaller businesses are left here. We must tackle the banks' bias to lend to larger companies and corporations. I hope the Bill will do so. Although long awaited, it is a good initiative. However, it is only one initiative and I hope there will be more.

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