Sinéad Gibney (Dublin Rathdown, Social Democrats)

I am delighted to have this opportunity and a little surprised that there is not more interest from speakers across the House on this really important issue. I will cover some of the things we talk about when we think about what a social enterprise is, the contributions they make to society and to our economy and then some of the gaps that I believe still exist in this strategy. I really welcome that the Minister of State has invited from us those suggestions and I trust that he will give them adequate deliberation and consideration.

What is a social enterprise? It is worth going back to brass tacks on this because everybody has a different understanding of it. They are businesses that operate as a business but to achieve a social, societal or environmental impact. This allows them to contribute positively to the community in ways a normal business simply cannot. They can prioritise affordability, giving employment to those who are usually excluded by the labour market or demonstrating that businesses can be eco-friendly.

I have had the privilege over the course of my career of working in the corporate sector and in the public sector. I have worked with social enterprises, NGOs and civil society in providing consultancy directly into them and overseeing funding streams and support programmes to build them up and allow them to flourish. This is, therefore, a concept I have thought a lot about over the course of my career. I still think that, unfortunately, a lot of this Government's policies are informed by a reliance on a private sector, for-profit model of business. I still think that, as a society, we hold a binary view that it is either that or a charity and there is no in-between. Social enterprises are therefore crucial in bringing about a level of sophistication of thinking about how we can combine businesses, but ones that are more sustainable, that serve our communities better into the future and where we can actually see their societal impact.

Even today I was in the audiovisual room looking at a presentation about employee ownership trusts. They are facing tax barriers to even just allowing for that worker-management model within normal businesses. Earlier this afternoon, I spoke on Leaders' Questions and Questions on Policy or Legislation to ask about the multi-annual funding that so many organisations in our civil society are crying out for as well as for core funding. We still see these organisations as charitable organisations that do good in society but which we should be grateful for rather than seeing them as viable organisations that provide crucial State services, public services, seirbhísí poiblí, that we all rely on day to day up and down the country. They contribute to society and form a vital part of our community. I often hear from constituents in my area, for example, about the frustrating lack of spaces in our communities for people to come together, to socialise, to interact, without spending loads of money.

One of my favourite social enterprises has taken that challenge head-on. I will use it as an example of what we really value in a social enterprise. Third Space is a café in Smithfield that was founded by Sean Mullan and which provides affordable food in an increasingly gentrified area, an area in north-inner-city Dublin which is just lacking that third space. That is what it is named after. We have workspaces and dwelling spaces but we no longer have community spaces to come together. That is what Third Space is, and not only that, but it also provides employment to those who might otherwise find it harder to get employment. It works with NGOs and community and voluntary organisations within the area to help it fundraise. It has a square meal programme whereby everybody comes along and pays what they think that meal is worth and everything goes towards that charity. It does so much to bring about a sense of community in a space that is otherwise starved of it. It provides great food, great service and that space for artists, community groups, musicians and many more to come together. These spaces reduce antisocial behaviour, reduce loneliness and promote healthier, more vibrant communities. The whole community benefits from this, whether or not they engage directly with a social enterprise or not. Tá siad fite fuaite inár bpobal, agus caithfimid tacú leo.

Often overlooked when we speak about social enterprises, though, is their contribution to the economy. That is, I think, because we still have that mindset of charity, particularly as they do not fall under the Department of enterprise. They are extremely valuable to our economy. Those who work in this sector form part of our income-based tax, a tax base that is much more stable than corporation tax. The money spent in this sector and any surpluses generated go directly back into our local communities instead of feeding offshore corporations or sitting in shareholder investment accounts around the world. In sectors which face issues around high costs, pricing out consumers and squeezing wages, social enterprises offer the possibility for cheaper prices for consumers and better wages and conditions for workers because they do not constantly place profit margin above their social purpose - all this while they continue to run viable businesses. There is also huge opportunity for the State, which often pays a high price for corporate profits in public procurement, to save taxpayer funds by having more contracts with social enterprises.

I welcome this strategy and I believe it contains many worthwhile aims and commitments. We see a very important shift in formalising and consolidating supports, providing new finance tools and pushing for the visibility of social enterprises. Under this strategy, however, we are still not yet seeing that crucial pivot away from short-term grant-dependent supports. For any business and enterprise, this makes it incredibly difficult to scale its work, to ensure that it will continue to operate and to aspire to its full potential. By contrast, we have a much more sophisticated structure around other businesses and supporting their viability and longevity. Particularly disappointing is that social enterprise is not mentioned at all in the Action Plan on Competitiveness and Productivity. It is a missed opportunity when social enterprises can be both productive and extremely competitive, just not the traditional model of what we think of as an enterprise. I would encourage much closer collaboration with the Department of enterprise as we are really missing out on huge potential benefits in this area. On this strategy, we need to do much more to change the system to sustainable, long-term, diversified funding, including through public procurement. If we build capacity in this sector, we all stand to benefit as communities, taxpayers and consumers.

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