Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I do not believe that the representatives of the Small Firms Association or ISME would agree with the Taoiseach that their specific interests are represented on the NESC by IBEC. There is a difference in terms of function. The Small Firms Association exists in the first instance to specifically represent the concerns and interests of its members.

The Mazars report of 2013 indicates, shockingly, that the small and medium sized enterprise contribution to the economy in Ireland is the lowest across the European Union. In other words, Ireland's SME sector makes the lowest contribution of all the SME sectors in all of the member states across the Union. That is worrying and should be a cause of concern for Government. It is a matter that should be jolting the Government into action. I know from my extensive and constant contact with small business owners, self employed persons, entrepreneurs and investors in small business across the country, as well as in my own constituency, that they believe that Government policy does not reflect their interests and is not supportive of them. They often feel targeted and believe that they do not have the same access or ear in government as, for example, do the multinationals or larger firms located here.

A shocking statistic that emerged from CSO figures a few months ago is that in 2011, when the Taoiseach took up office, 92,000 SMEs or self employed people had other employees in their companies. In other words, they were employers of people other than themselves. By August 2014, that figure had decreased. At a time when overall employment is increasing the number of self employed people who employ others has decreased. That is a cause for significant concern. It is important that the Taoiseach and his party in government honour the commitment they made prior to the last election and give a formal voice to this sector. It is clear from the Statutory Instrument of 2010 - I have it before me on my ipad - that the Taoiseach has the capacity to make appointments to the NESC. That is the Taoiseach's role. There is no reason, logical or otherwise, he cannot do so, other than an unwillingness to rock the boat. Unfortunately, the attitude when it comes to the SME sector is "continue as you were". There appears to be no imperative or sense of urgency at Government level to prioritise and strategically position Ireland to support the enterprise sector.

The Mazars report of 2013 indicates that the SME sector in Ireland makes the lowest contribution to the overall economy. According to recent statistics, exports from Irish small and medium sized businesses equates to only one-eighth of exports by the SME sector in Denmark, which is a cause for significant concern. It is not good enough to simply say that in 2010, the former Taoiseach, Brian Cowen, appointed X organisations and, therefore, we must allow the status quoto continue. We need to see change. We need dynamism and leadership in government and we need the SME sector, including self employed people and entrepreneurs, who are the people we are asking day-in and day-out to take risks and who pay more tax than anybody else in this country, to be given a voice and to be listened to.

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