Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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9. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the amount of grants paid per year, every year to indigenous Irish start-up companies and foreign start-up companies between 2011 and 2015. [28629/15]

Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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We are always being told Ireland is a great little country in which to do business but there probably is a perception that the focus is overwhelmingly on attracting foreign multinationals rather than nurturing sustainable home-grown industry. Economic watchdogs such as the Nevin Economic Research Institute would warn we need to be careful of an over-reliance on foreign direct investment. How were the hundreds of millions available in State funding divided over the years of this Government's term in office between foreign and indigenous companies?

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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I do not wish to be evasive but the written question tabled by the Deputy related to start-ups and the statistics provided to me relate specifically to start-ups. In general terms, the vast majority of start-ups are Irish. Enterprise Ireland supports approximately 185 start-ups. Only ten of those would be sponsored by non-Irish individuals. The vast majority of the run of money, running from €17 million in 2011 up to €29.5 million in 2014, has gone to Irish-owned companies. IDA Ireland does not support start-ups in that sense. Similarly, the local enterprise offices have approximately €18.5 million of which approximately 60% is directed at start-ups, very few of which would be international.

On Deputy Daly's wider question, more than two thirds of the budget of the Department is spent on Irish as opposed to overseas companies. Irish companies account for the vast majority of the jobs growth. IDA Ireland was involved in the creation of 7,500 net jobs, Enterprise Ireland was involved in the creation of 8,500 net jobs and local enterprise offices were involved in the creation of 4,000 net jobs. That is some 12,500 net jobs versus 7,500 net jobs on the export-oriented side. Most of our budget goes to Irish-owned companies and most of the job creation is in Irish-owned companies. Foreign-owned companies are an important part of the mix and we seek to have a balanced expansion. There is a fair devotion of resources. The investment in Irish companies is on a much broader range. A much broader suite of policy supports are available to Irish-owned companies including capability, lean processing, research and development, innovation, management development and access to finance supports.

Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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This is really part of a broader discussion that needs to be had in terms of State supports, which come in many forms. I appreciate the Minister's point about my question. I had two questions in one but I think they must have been split up. I appreciate the points the Minister made about start-ups. I also hear what he is saying about more than two thirds of his budget going to Irish companies. However, that is only part of the issue. We have to see business supports as being much more than just grant aids and we need an analysis of this issue. Large international companies do not come to Ireland just because they get State aid. Much of it has to do with our low corporation tax and PRSI rates and, as Michael Taft said, the role Ireland plays in global tax avoidance. Has the Minister seen the report featured in The Guardianlast week about the concept of corporate welfare? Big business is essentially getting massive handouts at the expense of the taxpayer. In Britain, it was £93 billion which equates to more than £3,500 per household. Why can we not do a similar analysis in Ireland to see the cost that is being borne by Irish families to pay for this State subsidy to big business?

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy knows, under the EU's regional guidelines, there are huge restrictions on state aid that can be given to large companies. By and large, there is no substantial state aid. The companies can be supported in areas such as research and development or training, but the era of large grants is over. Neither is the Deputy right when she says the predominant magnet of Ireland is our tax regime. The predominant magnet is our talent and the clusters we have developed in key areas. They have become the dominant attraction. The corollary, however, is that we need to continue to develop those talent areas. There is strong demand for skills in areas of science, engineering and mathematics, which are really important.

In terms of support to Irish companies, they are not, as Deputy Daly suggests, grant aid in the form of corporate handouts. That is not the approach which has been taken. Enterprise Ireland has strict criteria.

Much of the money is competitive or is for leadership for growth. It is for companies to provide better leadership within companies or to look at their processes and improve them. It is very much focused on specific targets set by the business to grow its export and employment base. It is not a question of dishing out corporate charity.

Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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The point I am trying to make relates to the concept known as corporate welfare. It is not simply about direct aid which, as the Minister has said, has been restricted somewhat in recent years. It is really about subsidies and tax breaks. Would the Minister not agree that there is no centralised record in Ireland of exactly how much taxpayers' money is being diverted to foreign multinationals through various arms of the State in this way and, therefore, the true cost to the taxpayer remains one of the best kept secrets we have? Should we not try to find out that information?

In a British context the analysis has revealed the equivalent of £3,500 per household. I imagine in an Irish context the amount of the transfer is far greater. It is a little like what the Think-tank for Action on Social Change has said in the sense that what we are seeing is the concentration of income in fewer hands, giving wealthy people more power to lobby for tax cuts that will disproportionately affect them. It is the case, therefore, that Ireland is one of the most unequal countries in Europe. The issue of corporate welfare is part of this and we would benefit from a greater analysis of the problem.

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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I think the Deputy really is letting ideology run away with her. The total sum that my Department disperses is €500 million. This compares to a welfare budget of €20 billion, an education budget of €8 billion and the health budget of €13 billion. We are not engaged in substantial corporate welfare in any sense of the term. Any of the money we disperse is tightly accounted for. It is based on criteria, namely, the capacity of those companies to grow and deliver results. Often it is linked to delivery of results. In other words, if there is support, it is connected. It is all focused on commitments made by the companies which are closely monitored by development advisers of the companies.

This is a strategy to support an export-led recovery and the evidence is there to support it. Irish-owned companies have had double-digit export growth in each of the past four years. We have succeeded in attracting substantial and ambitious companies to use Ireland as their base to grow in Europe. They believe we have a good business environment in which they can grow. That is the nature of our policy. Any objective assessment of our policy would say that it is successful, focused, transparent and accountable.