John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Deputies opposite promised new politics, but that is not new politics. None of what they have said today is new politics. Can they tell people involved in the SME sector that austerity is over? That might apply to some businesses in urban centres, but it does not apply to family-run SMEs all over the country that have been in business for generations. These families have spent all their savings to keep their shops and services open, and now they are left with nothing. This Government, like its predecessor, has been saying it has given the banks €3.5 million this year to lend to the SME sector. The banks are not lending. They are spoofing. They are telling the Government porkies and the Government is taking them on board. Why does it not tell the banks not to act in this manner? Where is the bank that the Government said it would put in place for the SME sector?

I am talking about companies on the high street that provide two, three or four jobs in local communities. They cannot get the money they need to stay open. They are pushed to the pin of their collars. The Government is doing nothing about it. This is happening on the Government's watch. It should tell AIB that it wants to see weekly returns on the investments it is making in the SME sector. AIB will not be able to provide such details. It is paying a fortune for newspaper advertisements about being brave or something. It is a joke. The Minister of State with responsibility for the SME sector, for whom I have the greatest respect, knows it is a joke. AIB needs to be called in because it is not just bluffing the Government - it is bluffing every single one of us in this House. Some 800,000 people were employed in the SME sector at one time. As that number has dwindled dramatically, the response from the banks and, as a result, the Government has been absolutely pathetic. The Government should not allow the banks to get away with this. It should tell the banks to fulfil the Government's policy and commitment to facilitate lending to the SME sector.

The Government said there would be no upward-only rent reviews, but that went out the minute it came into office. People out there are still affected by it. Are Members aware that the Government is one of the biggest holders of leases with upward-only rent reviews? When representatives of the various harbour companies appeared before the Committee of Public Accounts last week, we learned that 54 properties have little or no leases attached to them.

The Government is not doing its homework or introducing the necessary reforms.

What about commercial rates for the small to medium-sized enterprise, SME, sector? The Government claimed to understand the difficulties in that regard. SMEs have cut their costs and minimised everything. The last cost, which they cannot effect, is the commercial rate, but the Government is doing nothing about it. When an enthusiastic entrepreneur builds an extension to his or her pub, shop, warehouse or whatever, the first visit he or she receives is not from government wishing him or her well, but from a local authority's rates section, organised by government, seeking to revalue his or her property. Is this the type of country that the Government wants? Should everyone who attempts to create or sustain jobs be taxed and penalised? It happened prior to this Government's tenure, too, but the Government promised reform. It has not delivered, and has instead continued to tax and shame SMEs up and down the country. If the Minister of State told them that austerity had ended, they would not believe him.

We in the south east have argued for a university in the region. The Minister of State's party colleague agreed that one was needed and recognised the fact that outside investors looked for the best quality services for them and their employees, for example, schools, housing and universities. We promoted our campaign and Institute of Technology, Carlow linked with the Waterford Institute of Technology, but the project has been derailed.

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