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

No doubt there has been a reliance on foreign direct investment by the Government for job creation. We welcome foreign direct investment and all that can be done to ensure foreign direct investment is brought to the State should be done. It is worth noting that the multiplier effect from foreign direct investment creates 0.7 new jobs for each job that is directly created and these are also to be welcome.

In this area, Ireland should focus on its competitive advantages vis-à-vis attracting foreign direct investment. It should focus on the issues of skills, languages, infrastructure, culture, efficiencies and productivity. We should not be putting all our eggs in one basket in terms of Ireland's attractiveness on tax avoidance. I believe strongly that such focus creates a bubble effect whereby when those loopholes are closed internationally, it will have a negative effect on Ireland's foreign direct investment.

Indigenous business is in large part the poor relation in this State. It creates, in comparison, 1.4 new jobs for every direct job created. In general, indigenous businesses contribute properly in taxation to the State.

Over the past five years, and the past two years of Deputy Bruton's stewardship, the county enterprise boards which are directly responsible for indigenous small business development have been directionless. They still do not know what is happening. They are in the nowhere zone. Typically, they provide a better regional distribution of job creation. When will these issues be resolved?

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