Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill and the provisions in it that will be of benefit. As Deputy O'Reilly said, we will continue to engage over the course of the Bill's passage through the legislative process. The Bill contains several important measures such as the exemption relief, the opportunity for virtual meetings, the enhancement of regulatory bodies and powers, and the extension to the review of privileged material from seven days to 14 days. It must all be seen in the context of supporting small business, which I am sure the Minister of State will agree is very important. We need a stronger regulatory framework to ensure that small businesses are supported, as they are the lifeblood of local economies.

I want to raise an issue in the business regulation and competition environment that has been brought to my attention. It is one that deserves additional attention. I refer to the role of the State and State agencies in supporting and working with businesses to the best possible extent. Sometimes they are in competition with small business. I have two separate examples in my constituency that have been brought to my attention during my time in the Dáil. In both instances, small IT developers developed a technology only to see the State, or part of it, essentially come in and undermine them or take them out of the game. A number of pioneering software developers in the agritech industry have come to me and said the State has not played a helpful role in supporting them. In fact, it was the exact opposite. I do not want to go into the exact details but I would appreciate if the Minister of State could take a personal interest in the matter as it is important to do so at a time when we are trying to encourage innovation and enterprise. At one time, these three software developers were in competition with one other. There is a role for the State and its agencies to get involved. They have a far bigger role, which can be a helpful one, but in this case the three pioneering software engineers are now all out of business. They all say they have concerns about the way the State supports enterprise. The matter deserves attention.

In addition to the previous issue relating to the agritech industry, I have been told about an issue in the sporting area. It is the same type of picture. I do not suggest there is anything untoward but it merits attention, especially given that we must support and encourage the digital economy at this time. The State has a role to play and it should be a beneficial and supportive one rather than a malign one. From the experience of the software developers to whom I refer, they say that there is potential for greater regulatory controls in the likes of the CCPC, and what we are talking about here, namely, corporate enforcement. I will personally correspond with the Minister of State on those matters and we can take it from there.

This legislation sits within a broader framework and it is very important that we get it right to ensure that we have an environment where we can do pioneering work, lead, and ensure that the relationship between the public and private sector is a healthy and robust one, as it should be.

See this speech in context