John Perry (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fine Gael)

There is no ambiguity about this. This Government understands and respects small companies and will provide services for them. The 200,000 small companies are the backbone of the Irish economy.

If people are fearful of going into the local authority office because they might be requested to pay other charges, I would sincerely hope they will pay the social charges they are supposed to pay. Our job is to support small companies and when we look at the charges levied by local government on business, that is an integral part of running a business.

This is an ideal partnership between local government and Enterprise Ireland. The hub will be enterprise driven by Enterprise Ireland. With regard to the allocation of funding, the added value delivered by enterprise boards through mentoring supports currently means we can save money.

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