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

-----are aimed at meeting the needs of small business. Also, under JobsPlus a €72 per week subsidy is available to a business that recruits from the live register. These initiatives are very much targeted at the needs of businesses that are small in scale. We regularly review those needs. Another new initiative is the introduction of a first-time exporters scheme to support small business used to trading domestically but now wishing to export. We are currently rolling out a system to assist more businesses get online so that they can have outreach to the broader market. There are a lot of new initiatives taking place.

I accept the Deputy's point in relation to procurement. There is a genuine dilemma in this area. By centralising procurement, real savings and better value can be achieved for the Exchequer but this may mean that small and medium-sized enterprises are squeezed out. The new director of public procurement meets regularly with small businesses, is currently reviewing the code of practice and is introducing pilot systems to consult with small business regarding its experience. There is an openness to small business in the public procurement arena. There is no doubt but that central procurement achieves savings. At a time when the alternative is cuts in real service delivery, one has to review areas such as procurement. There is a balance to be struck.

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