Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill. Like my colleagues I commend the Government on bringing this Bill before the House. I commend the Government's achievements to date in addressing job creation which was identified post-election 2011 as the single greatest challenge. As Deputy English stated, we have moved from a situation where 7,000 jobs a month were being lost to a situation where 5,000 jobs are being created in the private sector. This is a welcome development and is a sign that many of the Government's efforts are paying dividends.

The Ministers and officials in the Department must find it very frustrating because their actions and efforts are never given much publicity. I am pleased to note that the fruits of their labours have been evident over the past 12 to 15 months by way of the announcement of new jobs.

I had a recent conversation with a very senior bank official who has international banking experience. I asked him about signs that the recession was coming to an end in the capital city and whether the boom would return to Dublin but not to Cork and my area of west Cork. He assured me that the history of recessions has shown that all recessions end first in the capital city and then reach the other cities and regions. I am pleased to note that his prophecy is being fulfilled here in Ireland, as shown by the recent announcements of job creation in the city of Cork. The boom is starting to happen and recovery is very evident in Cork. My ambition is to see that recovery moving into the regions into areas like west Cork.

For the past two years I have been a member of a committee in west Cork called the West Cork Jobs Initiative. The committee is comprised of employers with well-known brand names such as SouthWestern Services, Carbery Milk Products, Inchydoney Island Lodge and Spa, The Southern Star, Carbery Plastics, Rowa Pharmaceuticals, Keohane Readymix and a professor from UCC. The chief executive officers of those companies are assisting in devising policy to attract jobs into the west Cork region. We have identified a number of challenges such as infrastructural challenges. For example, the N71 needs to be upgraded but, regrettably, this was not done by the previous Government when the money was available. As our economy improves I hope this Government will prioritise the N71 upgrade so we can better develop job creation in west Cork.

The committee has identified that the future for the region lies in small and medium enterprises. We must ensure that proposed legislation is as favourable to the SME sector as to larger companies. I refer in particular to the Government's changes to legislation on redundancy payments. I agree it is not desirable to make it too easy for larger companies to outsource their work and let 300 or 400 people go while the Government pays the larger share of redundancy payments. The onus for payment has been transferred to the employer but this can cause problems for small and medium enterprises. Research undertaken by the West Cork Jobs Initiative shows that many SME employers employing two to five people are fearful of employing additional staff. While the economy is improving they have capacity to take on another employee but they are fearful of the onus on the employer to provide a lump sum redundancy payment if the need arises. The proposed legislation must bear in mind the pressure on SMEs. It could be necessary to introduce twin-track legislation to ensure that SMEs are not at a disadvantage. They are the future in areas like west Cork as they provide the best hope of job creation.

I am preparing a paper on the issue of redundancy payments and I look forward to bringing it to the attention of the Minister and the Minister of State in due course. I appreciate there must be a balance applied in any changes in legislation. I suggest that such redundancy payments could be spread out over time and legislation must also ensure the protection workers' rights. However, there is a difference in the situation of workers in a large corporation and those who work in a small company with two or three employees.

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