Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)

We are all happy that we are having a conversation about national social enterprise policy. However, it is the case that seeing is believing. Like my colleagues, I know there have been many successful but also some unsuccessful social enterprise operations within our constituencies. Some of that is due to the fact that supports and the framework have not necessarily been in place as we would like to see them. In fairness, the Minister of State plans to visit my constituency. Muirhevnamor community centre is one of the places he will be visiting. When we have that sort of community infrastructure, it is a matter of making sure we utilise it. Whether we are talking about training initiatives or social enterprises, as I said, some have been successful and some have not. In some cases, we need to make sure we have not only resources in the sense of the seed money that is necessary, but also what additional supports are necessary to bring these enterprises to a level where they can be successful.

Some of my colleagues noted that this can be a particularly innovative process. Where people have been at a remove from training and employment, these are the type of people that we need go get into this area. We have seen the huge strides that have been taken in regard to education. Lifelong learning has been facilitated to a degree, although there are still some people locked out who we need to facilitate. Whether it is the PLC route or other avenues that offer opportunity, these did not necessarily exist before. If we are serious about this, it will be a case of trying and testing, and doing what we do not always necessarily do, which is to review the policy and then make the changes that are necessary.

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