Brendan Griffin (Kerry South, Fine Gael)

I warmly welcome this Bill. When enacted, this legislation will provide a vital lifeline to microenterprises that are currently starved of vital credit. The biggest single problem facing our economy and future economic prosperity currently is the lack of credit available to businesses. We have heard many examples of such cases in the contributions made here this evening. This Bill is good news for all those businesses that will come under its remit. A vibrant micro-enterprise sector is crucial to our recovery and to the creation of sustainable jobs, not just in larger urban centres, but all over Ireland and in peripheral areas. This is very important, particularly for rural constituencies where microenterprises offer major opportunities. I support any efforts to help in this regard.

I welcome the Minister's action plan for jobs and his efforts to implement the action plan as quickly and thoroughly as possible. This is an ambitious plan with specific targets and a detailed roadmap for getting to where we need to be. This is needed more now than at any time previously in our history. Even in the 1920s, 1950s and 1980s, unemployment was not as bad as it is now. It is timely that we now have such a detailed roadmap for job creation and I commend the Minister and those working with him on that. Hopefully, we will see it fully implemented.

I would like to give an example of a case in Kerry I came across recently. I met an entrepreneur from west Kerry who set up a very successful business in the past 12 months which is going very well for him. He is now at peak production. Unfortunately, however, he does not have the capacity to expand his business because of a lack of credit and the failure of the banks to lend to him. He is turning away orders currently. Jobs are waiting to be created in his business, but he cannot create them because he does not have access to credit. I hope such an enterprise will benefit from this legislation and that it will help solve his problems and create jobs for people in desperate need of them. Every job created in our economy helps a family. It puts bread on the table, pays bills and sends children to school and college. We need to be conscious of this. A job is not just a statistic; it is a life. We need to do all we can to help create as many jobs as possible.

I am very concerned by the problems and lack of activity in our domestic economy, but I know the Minister is making every effort to try to stimulate activity. I urge him to consider areas outside of the jobs plan. Perhaps he will consider looking at giving further breaks to employers for creating new jobs. I know there are many schemes available currently to employers. However, many employers are not aware of those schemes. A greater effort must be made to create awareness of the various schemes that exist. Recently, I submitted a number of parliamentary questions to the Minister's Department and received some detailed responses which I have circulated to business people in my constituency who were unaware such schemes existed. An effort should be made by the Department to get this information into the public domain so as to ensure the full benefit of the schemes can be exploited.

In the case of new employment, perhaps the Minister should look at giving further breaks, such as PRSI breaks. We should think about the fact we tax people who create new jobs. I agree we need a tax base and the revenue associated with jobs. However, perhaps there is something we can do to make it easier for employers to create new jobs. That is what the economy needs.

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