Noel Grealish (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am grateful for this opportunity to contribute to the debate on the Government's priorities for the year ahead. I welcome the publication of the document outlining those very priorities. As we all know, the only way out of a recession is through job creation. If we do not have people back in work, the tax yield will be down and the Government will not have the income to spend on much-needed projects. The Government has designated 2014 to be the year for jobs. Will it consider job sustainability as well in all sectors of our economy?

I am concerned about the plight of micro-businesses and small and medium-sized enterprises, SMEs, in general. Coming from a SME business background, I have first-hand knowledge of this area in the economy. I wish to highlight the current plight of this sector in particular and urge the Government to make this a priority for the year ahead. The essential core and spirit of our country is based on community. Local community is the fabric of our nation. That is what makes us different from others. That is what we Irish are. We must never forget we are a nation first, an economy second. Based on parish, sport, the credit union movement and various local community co-operative groups, every district has its own identity and supports its own. To sustain and keep our communities viable, we need to support and protect local jobs in those communities. These local communities are the real heartbeat of Ireland. It will mainly be through their spirit that our country will recover. We cannot let them die for want of local employment.

Small businesses are located in every town across the country, the majority employing fewer than ten people. However, it may be forgotten that these businesses make up over 70% of the national employment register - seven out of every ten employees. This is not only urban-based but also necessary to regional employment throughout the whole country. This, in turn, is helping to support other regional jobs in the services and retail sector. If these jobs are lost, they will be very difficult to replace. The onus is on the Government to support these jobs in every way possible. We always hear the welcome major announcements from multinationals about creating jobs, but the small businesses must be remembered too. They are the backbone of our economy. As the Minister of State with responsibility for small business acknowledged, SMEs are the lifeblood of our economy, with approximately 200,000 companies supporting over 800,000 people in employment. That indicates just how important the sector is to national employment and the future recovery of our economy.

One concern for the SME sector is the difficulties it experiences in the operation of the public procurement process. I am glad the Minister of State with responsibility for this area, Deputy Brian Hayes, is in the Chamber. When one sees that this area of government expenditure alone amounted to an estimated €14 billion in 2011, it is imperative that as much scope as possible be offered to the SME sector now to participate in this business. I am particularly concerned about micro-businesses and their difficulties with the public procurement scheme. Will the tendering process for supplying government bodies such as schools and local authorities be reviewed? For example, under the system, government bodies have been instructed to purchase all stationery, paper and office supplies from a single supplier and not from local shops, as was the case in the past. A company must have a turnover of at least €3 million per annum before it can even tender to supply goods to government bodies, schools or local authorities, which effectively rules out most small businesses which are operating throughout the country. Small companies are paying rates to their local councils but are precluded from supplying them with any goods and services.

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