Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We are very restricted in what we can do. This is the environment we have inherited and we must deal with it.

We must try to use the money we have in smart ways, which is why we have used the National Pensions Reserve Fund, NPRF, in a smart way. The NPRF put out €200 million and leveraged it to secure an €850 million investment for small and medium enterprises. It used the seed to get a bigger bulk of money, which is now available to drive enterprise creation which can impact on job creation. We have many strong companies which could do better in markets, but they are starved because of the condition of the banks. The NPRF has taken some of its money and not only spent it today but also put it into a renewable leveraged fund. It will get its money back and be able to repeat it. One needs to invest and be innovative in the use of one's assets. It is easy to spend money, but we inherited an economy in which one could not spend money. One had to think of ways to make a difference without big cheque book investment strategies.

While everyone would love to be able to pursue such strategies, that was not the economy the Government inherited.

To reflect on the position from which we have come, the Government sought to look at sectors that could give it a bang and from the first day Deputy Noonan took office, he identified tourism as a sector in which an early win could be achieved. Were the VAT rates and the employers' PRSI rate to be changed and were the travel tax to be reduced, the Government could get a bang out of tourism. Moreover, it got that bang. In the past 12 months, 16,000 additional people have been at work in the tourism sector. Similarly, the Government has examined manufacturing, which is a long-neglected sector in this economy. In the past 12 months, 8,000 people have returned to work in that sector and more can be done next year in this regard. This year, the Government is specifically looking at how to get more people to start their own businesses. Two thirds of all jobs, both in this economy and in virtually every western economy, come from businesses that have started up and are in their first five years. That is the source of new growth of employment. Deputy Tóibín, who has put a lot of thought into this issue, understands the needs of small business and the Government is trying to make better the environment for such small growth companies.

I heard Deputy Martin being cynical about the LEOs but the Government is creating a centre of excellence for small business within Enterprise Ireland to back these LEOs with new tools to drive opportunities. In addition, the Government is tapping into the vast strength of the local authorities to make them an ally in driving new business opportunities in each county nationwide. This approach is novel and different and while it does not require huge amounts of additional money, the Government is making available an additional €3.5 million this year. One thing for which it will be used is to incentivise young people to start up a business. I acknowledge the Joint Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, of which Deputies Calleary and Tóibín are members, has been extremely keen to have youth entrepreneurship promoted and the Government seeks to do that.

I am not defensive and am happy to take criticism and to try to improve in every way. To be fair, I work with the aforementioned committee in a highly constructive light and I try to improve continually what I am doing. However, I find it somewhat cynical to listen in the Chamber to Members - Deputy Ross in particular - engage in hyperbole about stress tests, share values, bank shares and heaps of stuff, while pretending to be the champion of the little guy. The truth is that the 72,000 additional people at work is the practical thing the Government has done to help ordinary people. Moreover, 60,000 fewer people now are unemployed and most of them come from those who were long-term unemployed. A total of 137,000 people came off the live register last year to get employment opportunities and the Government is making a difference in many people's lives. I acknowledge there is a great deal of hardship and I do not deny this for a minute It has been really tough to try to pull back from an economy that was spending 50% more than it took in revenue. That meant that a lot of people depending on public services had poor impacts and were affected badly. Many people in public service lost pay and were obliged to take lower pay. It has not been possible to recruit in the public service but the Government has now returned to a position in which it can borrow more cheaply than ever before. Moreover, we are beginning to see an economy that is restoring its capacity to be self-sufficient and in which our enterprises have created opportunities for 72,000 people over the last five quarters. That constitutes progress. One may certainly criticise and state the Government could do more and I do not pretend it is perfect. However, the tone of this debate has been far too cynical on the Opposition side. Let us talk seriously about those things that can be done and let us have an honest debate on the potential that exists.

It is not perfect and I accept the point made by Deputy Boyd Barrett. There is a problem in the housing rented sector. The recent rise in rents in Dublin is putting pressure on many of the extant systems and I acknowledge that. I see it in my constituency just as he sees it in his. In this context, the household assistance payment system is to move away from the rent supplement, which, as the Deputy is aware, one would lose entirely were one to work for more than 30 hours. The idea is to try to move away from that all-or-nothing rent supplement, which traps people in unemployment, to the housing assistance payment. The latter has been designed by the Minister of State with responsibility for housing, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, and effectively is a differential rent for those who are in the rent supplement sector. The ambition is to give support to people but in such a way that they can improve their position. That is a reform-----

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