Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I was looking at the action plan for jobs recently and action 1.38 outlined that there would be a new system of strategic dialogue that will align funding of higher education institutions to performance in the achievement of national objectives for a system development and priorities in relation to skills development commencing in 2012 and it will be fully rolled out in the coming years. People want reform on upward only rents but instead they get nebulous delivery of an action of that sort.

I welcome the fact the Minister of State and Minister have finally listened to Sinn Féin and the representatives of small businesses around the State and brought them into the process when replacing the LEOs. It is a year too late, because the process started a year ago. We know the whole system of county enterprise boards is suffering from inertia, as stated by the Irish Exporters Association, and it is necessary to resolve that problem. The new enterprise system should be built around entrepreneurs, who should have been part of the process from the beginning, not at its end. It is unbelievable they are only now being brought in.

Since those enterprise organisations have set their face against the centralising of the county enterprise boards in the local authorities, will the Minister of State confirm today that he will listen to the representatives of those enterprise organisations and that there is scope for a reversal of some of the more negative aspects of his legislation? Will these entrepreneurial representatives have an influence over this process or is the Minister of State going full steam ahead?

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