Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am happy to speak on the County Enterprise Boards (Dissolution) Bill. Unfortunately, there is a cynical school of thought that regards any effort to reform this area as a cover for cost savings and reductions. While it is true that cost is always a factor, and no more so than when the State is recovering from a severe economic shock, the reforms being implemented in this Bill are about much more than cost savings. Efficiency and prudent use of public money is a factor, as it always should be in every State endeavour, but the County Enterprise Boards (Dissolution) Bill represents the fulfilment of a commitment in the programme for Government to build on the enhanced role of the local authorities and local public representatives in the local economy, as included in the Government's Local Government Act.

The Putting People First document produced by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government promotes the fact that local government has a presence throughout every county and the need to harness that as a provider of services across as wide a spectrum as possible.

We appreciate the expertise and competence of staff within our local authority sector, especially those of us who served as local authority members. We appreciate also the positive role of devolving greater powers and decision-making to local elected representatives. Local areas and local services being dealt with in their own area provide a sense of ownership and local ambition, and the equality of the local service is enhanced by the awareness of local needs, priorities and circumstances on the part of the elected representatives and also the staff within the local authority sector who live in their own communities and know the issues at stake in terms of job creation.

Time is crucial for business, and it is also crucial for Government. We can see that time is of the essence in the successful passage of all the legislation the Government would like to pass. At a regional action plan for jobs meeting in Galway in 2013, time spent on navigating regulatory frameworks, sourcing information and trustworthy advice, and preparing documents for securing finance were cited by many of the local businesspeople present as being of concern. The more time businesspeople and entrepreneurs spent on albeit important administrative issues, the less time they had to develop and grow their businesses. That in turn has a direct impact on employment.

The creation of one point of contact as envisaged in the Bill will without doubt provide entrepreneurs and owners of existing local businesses with more time to focus on their own business.

Cuirim fáilte roimh na bearta a spreag na hoifigí fiontar áitiúla a bhí sna contaetha chun acmhainní a thabhairt le chéile agus comhoibriú ar bhun réigiúnach chun seirbhísí agus tacaíocht speisialta a chur ar fáil. Is deis iontach dóibh siúd i gceantair Ghealtachta teacht le chéile chun gnó a fhorbairt agus poist a chruthú sna ceantair sin. Tá forbairt na tuaithe le tapú maidir le cruthú poist i ngach cheantair tuaithe, ach tá an-tábhacht ag baint le seo sna ceantair Ghealtachta, áit a bhfuil nasc idir an fhorbairt sin agus todhchaí ár dteanga dhúchais.

I gcomhthéacs an Bhille, tá scóip mhór ag na LEOs i nGaillimh, Maigh Eo, Dún na nGall, Ciarraí, Corcaigh, Port Láirge agus an Mhí comhpháirtíocht a chruthú agus comhoibriú le hÚdarás na Gaeltachta chun tacaíocht a thabhairt do na ceantair Ghaeltachta. There is a major role here for the local enterprise offices, LEOs, in conjunction with Údarás na Gaeltachta, to work together for the Gaeltacht areas. I would like to see greater co-operation between the two on the setting up of the LEOs. The Gaeltacht areas are served by local authority members also and in that regard there is a good deal of scope for greater interaction.

Galway county and city enterprise boards have played a vital role in the success of many local businesses in Galway in providing invaluable support, advice and assistance to businesspeople and entrepreneurs. Some of the largest employers started as small local business owners and they have now established themselves with assistance from our city and county enterprise boards. In this Bill the Government is drawing on the positive work the city and county enterprise boards have undertaken and that is combining with the new supports, including expert advice on obtaining finance for expansion, introduced in the past three years.

Supporting our small and medium enterprise sector is hugely important. One extra job in an SME could result in over 200,000 jobs being created in our country. Similar sentiments were expressed by Daniel Crespo at a recent meeting of the European Commission's Directorate-General for Enterprise and Industry to the effect that SMEs are valuable and an extra job in that sector could have a major impact on unemployment in a European context.

I welcome the Bill and the greater role for local authorities in terms of providing jobs and supports for SMEs. I am confident this new legislation will increase job creation and the number of jobs provided in our country.

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