John Perry (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This is a budget to provide for SMEs and the focus is on creating jobs in the real economy. The Taoiseach is very much aware of small companies. The Forfás report reviewed 159 licences required to do business. We are reducing them and will get rid of every one of them if we can. That is the legacy we inherited. The Minister, Deputy Noonan, has put together a comprehensive package. I read an appalling article the subject of which was a major attack on Enterprise Ireland by Deputy Ross. He is the business editor of a leading newspaper. If he was meeting the SMEs he would know only too well the role being played by Enterprise Ireland and what it and the IDA are doing for SMEs in every region. It is easy to take an article from a national newspaper and make a major attack but the facts are that they are doing the job on the ground. The Minister, Deputy Noonan, is addressing the challenges facing SMEs. We are examining the issues of late payments and a review of licences. The Taoiseach is meeting the banks almost every day of the week on the issue of the availability of credit and also Mr. John Trethowan's office regarding people who have been refused credit.

The Deputy, being a businessman, will know only too well that even dropping rates by 10% will not make a fundamental difference-----

See this speech in context