Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Minister knows he will top the poll in Wexford. The Minister's 66% of public expenditure going to SMEs is a bit skewed in the sense that 97% of Ireland's 200,000 businesses have 50 employees or fewer and 84% of them having fewer than ten. The question arose from a business in Wexford town that both of us know. Jim Wallace the tailor contacted me to let me know that he is finding it more difficult to get work. He was recently taken aback when he found that for work he often supplied previously, this time he had to go through a bigger contractor.

There was not a normal tendering process and the contractor just charged 10% on top of his price. I do not believe the Minister would think that is a great idea because it is an extra cost to the State. Likewise, with eligibility for contracts, he is finding that it is becoming a little more difficult because the excessive turnover requirements rule him out of areas in which he was not ruled out of before. The Minister must agree that this has to be difficult for small businesses in Ireland but is to the benefit of larger companies, be they Irish or foreign. This matter needs to be addressed by the Government.

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