Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The power up grant and the money that has been made available this year is similar to the amount the IDA is getting to support multinationals in job creation despite the fact that, as the Minister said, two thirds of employment is in the SME sector. If two thirds of employment is in one sector, why is it getting a similar amount of money to multinationals, which are a very important part of our economy but are doing extremely well? We need to rebalance the supports going into the SME sector.

I raised the issue of sick pay already today. I welcome that the Minister of State, Deputy Calleary, said the Department is exploring how it could be improved and how we can stop the abuse of sick pay. It is an important component of supports to staff but it is putting huge pressure on smaller businesses in particular. This is especially so for businesses which have to meet ratios, such as nursing homes and childcare providers. If one person is out sick, that person is being paid but the business also has to bring in a replacement person to backfill the job. I would appreciate a reply to those two questions.

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