Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The budgetary measures announced by the Minster for Finance yesterday are pro-business and pro-jobs. That allows my Department to build on the outstanding enterprise and employment achievements of recent years while also providing a range of supports to allow enterprises to effectively deal with the challenges of Brexit and other global developments.

This budget is of course set against a backdrop of significant achievement in recent years. As a Government it is encouraging to see that the incentives of the last few years are working. We all remember the days when unemployment was at 15.1%. Today it has dropped to just over 6%. There are also more than 2 million people back at work. These outcomes have not occurred by chance. They are the result of carefully considered and focused Government initiatives and prudent management of the economy.

Brexit, as we all know, is one of the greatest challenges in the history of the State. The introduction of the €300 million Brexit loan scheme for business is indicative of the Government’s commitment to facing the challenges head on. Importantly, the scheme, which provides affordable financing to Irish companies impacted by Brexit, is open to all trading companies of less than 500 employees, not just those who are clients of the Enterprise Ireland. In further recognition of the relevance and contribution of the enterprise sector, my Department has been allocated a record high of €560 million in capital funding. This will increase the capacity of the Department’s agencies to respond to the challenges of Brexit and to increase innovative capacity. Provision has made for an additional 50 staff across the agencies in the Department, bringing to over 100 the number of additional staff allocated to deal with the response to Brexit.

The Government is acutely aware of the need to ensure that economic success is felt in all the regions, not just in the greater Dublin area. Vibrant and competitive regions are important not just from an economic perspective, but also from a social point of view. As a Government, we want to encourage and support all regions, cities, towns and communities to achieve their economic and social potential. Recent Government initiatives have placing a renewed focus on regional development. We have the regional action plans for jobs which contain specific, measurable targeted actions, which are producing real results.

In terms of our Department’s performance, I am particularly encouraged by its record in creating employment and increasing enterprise capability in all the regions. In 2016, almost two thirds of new jobs created by Enterprise Ireland supported companies, and over half of those created by IDA Ireland, were located outside Dublin. Indeed, four out of every five jobs currently being created are outside Dublin. This is a massive recognition of the Government’s commitment to regional development, because jobs, as we all know, provide the energy and drive for the pursuit of a host of other social objectives.

This brings me to the local enterprises offices, LEOs. Their funding has increased to €22.5 million for 2018, an increase of almost 20% on the figure of two years ago. This will allow them build on the 34,000 jobs they are currently supporting throughout the country.

I am also delighted that €25 million has been allocated to Enterprise Ireland to fund a competitive call for proposals early in 2018 that will further support regional enterprise initiatives.

I will move on to the Health and Safety Authority as I am aware time is limited. Of note is the increase of €400,000, which is important. The additional funding will support the authority in undertaking a wide range of preventive, awareness-raising and enforcement activity across a variety of sectors, particularly against the backdrop of increased employment and economic activity in all sectors, not just the construction sector but agriculture as well.

IDA Ireland, meanwhile, through its winning strategy, continues to secure major gains for Ireland in terms of its pursuit of global investment opportunities. We are committed to the pursuit of the opportunities presented by advances in technology. We are fully aware of the economic opportunities offered by the digital economy and are positioned to ensure that we take full advantage of them.

Our commitment to the digital economy is complemented by the Government’s commitment to data protection. Since 2014, there has been a significant programme of investment to increase the resources of the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner. This firmly establishes Ireland as one of the best in its class in terms of its data protection regime and is fundamental to providing business confidence that further encourages business growth and foreign direct investment. In budget 2018, the office has been allocated a total budget of €11.67 million which represents a 55% increase on the 2017 allocation. The 2018 funding increase will allow for recruitment of approximately a further 40 staff, bringing total staff numbers to around 130. The additional funding will also facilitate the roll-out of further awareness-raising initiatives relating to the general data protection regulation, GDPR, which will come into law in May 2018.

In conclusion, I offer my assurance that Ireland is open for business and well positioned for the years ahead. The measures announced in budget 2018 provide further evidence of the Government’s commitment in this regard.

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