<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<rdf:RDF
  xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"
  xmlns:rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#"
  xmlns="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/"
  xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/">
		
<channel rdf:about="http://www.kildarestreet.com/mp/?pid=282">
<title>Pat Rabbitte - Recent appearances (From KildareStreet.com)</title>
<link>http://www.kildarestreet.com/mp/?pid=282</link>
<description></description>
<dc:language>en-gb</dc:language>
<dc:creator>KildareStreet.com, mprss.php script</dc:creator>
<dc:date>2009-04-15T16:11:22+00:00</dc:date>

<items>
<rdf:Seq>
<rdf:li rdf:resource="http://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2009-04-08.165.0&amp;m=773#g217.0" />
<rdf:li rdf:resource="http://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2009-04-08.165.0&amp;m=773#g215.0" />
<rdf:li rdf:resource="http://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2009-04-08.165.0&amp;m=773#g213.0" />
<rdf:li rdf:resource="http://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2009-04-08.165.0&amp;m=773#g211.0" />
<rdf:li rdf:resource="http://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2009-04-08.165.0&amp;m=773#g209.0" />
<rdf:li rdf:resource="http://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2009-04-07.326.0&amp;m=773#g356.0" />
<rdf:li rdf:resource="http://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2009-04-07.326.0&amp;m=773#g349.0" />
<rdf:li rdf:resource="http://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2009-04-07.86.0&amp;m=773#g210.0" />
<rdf:li rdf:resource="http://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2009-03-26.249.0&amp;m=773#g257.0" />
<rdf:li rdf:resource="http://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2009-03-26.249.0&amp;m=773#g255.0" />
<rdf:li rdf:resource="http://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2009-03-26.10.0&amp;m=773#g233.0" />
<rdf:li rdf:resource="http://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2009-03-26.10.0&amp;m=773#g231.0" />
<rdf:li rdf:resource="http://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2009-03-26.10.0&amp;m=773#g229.0" />
<rdf:li rdf:resource="http://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2009-03-26.10.0&amp;m=773#g22.0" />
<rdf:li rdf:resource="http://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2009-03-26.10.0&amp;m=773#g20.0" />
<rdf:li rdf:resource="http://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2009-03-26.10.0&amp;m=773#g18.0" />
<rdf:li rdf:resource="http://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2009-03-26.10.0&amp;m=773#g13.0" />
<rdf:li rdf:resource="http://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2009-03-11.111.0&amp;m=773#g182.0" />
<rdf:li rdf:resource="http://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2009-03-11.111.0&amp;m=773#g166.0" />
<rdf:li rdf:resource="http://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2009-03-11.111.0&amp;m=773#g164.0" />
</rdf:Seq>
</items>

</channel>

<item rdf:about="http://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2009-04-08.165.0&amp;m=773#g217.0">
	<title>Financial Resolution No. 11: General (Resumed). | D&amp;aacute;il debates</title>
	<link>http://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2009-04-08.165.0&amp;m=773#g217.0</link>
	<description>How much time remains?</description>
	<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p pid="217.1">How much time remains?</p>]]></content:encoded>
	<dc:date>2009-04-08T12:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
</item>
<item rdf:about="http://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2009-04-08.165.0&amp;m=773#g215.0">
	<title>Financial Resolution No. 11: General (Resumed). | D&amp;aacute;il debates</title>
	<link>http://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2009-04-08.165.0&amp;m=773#g215.0</link>
	<description>The &acirc;�&not;150 million for public transport is gone.  There is nothing in it about bulbs, carrots or parsnips, so where are the fingerprints?  Then it dawned on me that the Deputy was referring to...</description>
	<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p pid="215.1">The €150 million for public transport is gone.  There is nothing in it about bulbs, carrots or parsnips, so where are the fingerprints?  Then it dawned on me that the Deputy was referring to the delivery of Dáil reform.  That is where Deputy Gormley is now taking shelter, as he hid from the photograph of the Cabinet press conference yesterday.  He is responsible for Dáil reform, but when one examines it one must ask where it is.  In yesterday’s budget there was a list of severe cuts for Deputies, which are necessary given the current state of the country and the necessity to provide a lead.  It includes cutting pensions for former Ministers, but how is that Dáil reform?  The only element of Dáil reform listed concerns the committees, but the Minister for Finance said the Oireachtas Commission would deal with them.  The committees are creatures of the Taoiseach, not of the Oireachtas Commission, so I do not know where Dáil reform is set out in this package.</p><p pid="215.2">I find it hard to stomach the Minister, Deputy Gormley, lecturing us on the cuts that should be made.  Ever since the media started the campaign about add-ons created by the former Taoiseach, Deputy Bertie Ahern, the Minister, Deputy Gormley - since his speech in Dundalk and a half a dozen times since - has chosen to lecture the House on how he is going to clean up Dodge City.  I find it interesting because he negotiated the formation of the Government with Deputy Bertie Ahern, who is the author of all the add-ons.  I do not suppose anybody is arguing about the benchmarking of ordinary Deputies to principal officers in terms of salaries but Deputy Bertie Ahern’s add-ons caused the media begrudgery and outcry.</p><p pid="215.3">What did Deputy Gormley say when he met Deputy Bertie Ahern to negotiate the formation of the Government?  Did he ask how many committee chairs and Ministers of State he could have?  Did he object at that time to any of these issues?  He did not.  He also asked that two Green Party Senators be appointed.  Did he effect any changes in the stipend for these positions?  Deputy Gogarty, who is a committee chairman, created an event of considerable moment when the news came from the Green Party conference that he was going to resign as party spokesperson on education.  I did not know there was a party spokesperson on education in the Green Party and I certainly did not know that it was Deputy Gogarty.  The remarkable thing, however, is that he did not forego the €20,000 stipend that came with his committee chairmanship.  Some Deputies say, “Deputy Gogarty is a nice fellow, slightly eccentric.  He rolls around on the floor at public meetings and asks Senator Frances Fitzgerald to tickle his belly, and people give him some indulgence for this”.  I do not believe he is daft, rather he is the biggest actor in this House.  He has been getting away with it.</p><p pid="215.4">If one wants to go back a little further, what about the Minister of State, Deputy Sargent?  I have read newspaper articles recently arguing that the reason for this country’s casual acquaintance with ethics is its Catholic ethos and concepts such as the firm purpose of amendment.  While the Minister of State is not a member of the majority faith, he is more Jesuitical than those who adhere to it.  This is the man who said he would not lead the Green Party into government with Fianna Fáil.  Although he did not do so, he got the Minister, Deputy Gormley, to lead his party into government, while he went in the back door and re-emerged as the Minister of State with responsibility for parsnips and organic tomatoes.  That is the record of the Minister of State, Deputy Sargent.</p><p pid="215.5">The Minister, Deputy Gormley, has a decision to make if he wants to take the moral high ground.  What will he do on the decision not to pay the Christmas bonus?  He will have an opportunity to vote in the House on the few bob that is paid to social welfare recipients to make Christmas possible for them.  We will see what the man who arranged with his predecessor, the Minister of State, Deputy Dick Roche, to make the decision on the M3 on the day before he entered government, does now on the Christmas bonus.</p><p pid="215.6">What is the biggest decision this Government has made since it came into office?  Without doubt, it was the €440 billion underwriting of the reckless behaviour of untruthful bankers.  Where was the Minister, Deputy Gormley?  He was asleep in bed with his telephone switched off.  A garda had to wake him up to tell him the two Brians had been up all night and had mortgaged the future of the country to save the banking system and, as the Taoiseach would have it and I do not question his motivation, to save the economy.  It was a Monday night and the Minister had given instructions that his bicycle clips and helmet be left out for the following morning because when the cameras are present for Cabinet meetings it is important that he cycles to work, even though two Garda cars, one carrying the Minister’s lunch box of Ryvita and tomato, follow him as he does so.  The Minister had to be raised early that morning because he could not be found when the time came to make his decision.</p><p pid="215.7">A party that does not stand for anything will stand for nothing.  That is the position the Green Party has arrived at and we will see now what its Deputies do on the Christmas bonus and other matters.  For too long, the party has been flying beneath the radar.  It is so preoccupied with saving the planet and other loftier issues that it has nothing to do with the state of the economy.  We will see what it does but its performance until now has been lamentable.</p><p pid="215.8">I note the Minister of State, Deputy Sargent, has let the Taoiseach know that he is available to switch to another ministry.  At this time of depression, that news must give the country a bit of a lift.</p>]]></content:encoded>
	<dc:date>2009-04-08T12:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
</item>
<item rdf:about="http://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2009-04-08.165.0&amp;m=773#g213.0">
	<title>Financial Resolution No. 11: General (Resumed). | D&amp;aacute;il debates</title>
	<link>http://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2009-04-08.165.0&amp;m=773#g213.0</link>
	<description>She then went on about the green fingerprints, although I do not know where they are on this budget.  There is no carbon tax and nothing on the disabled persons grant.</description>
	<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p pid="213.1">She then went on about the green fingerprints, although I do not know where they are on this budget.  There is no carbon tax and nothing on the disabled persons grant.</p>]]></content:encoded>
	<dc:date>2009-04-08T12:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
</item>
<item rdf:about="http://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2009-04-08.165.0&amp;m=773#g211.0">
	<title>Financial Resolution No. 11: General (Resumed). | D&amp;aacute;il debates</title>
	<link>http://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2009-04-08.165.0&amp;m=773#g211.0</link>
	<description>Deputy Mary Alexandra White was very happy. </description>
	<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p pid="211.1">Deputy Mary Alexandra White was very happy. </p>]]></content:encoded>
	<dc:date>2009-04-08T12:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
</item>
<item rdf:about="http://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2009-04-08.165.0&amp;m=773#g209.0">
	<title>Financial Resolution No. 11: General (Resumed). | D&amp;aacute;il debates</title>
	<link>http://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2009-04-08.165.0&amp;m=773#g209.0</link>
	<description>Deputy Gilmore dealt with the role of Fianna F&Atilde;&iexcl;il in contributing to the state the country is in, but there is another party in Government.  It is called the Green Party and before I forget it,...</description>
	<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p pid="209.1">Deputy Gilmore dealt with the role of Fianna Fáil in contributing to the state the country is in, but there is another party in Government.  It is called the Green Party and before I forget it, I want to say a word or two about its contribution.  When I left the Chamber last night, I was struck by an interview I caught almost accidentally by the deputy leader of the Green Party, Deputy Mary Alexendra White.  When asked she said she was very happy about the budget.  She said it had green fingerprints all over it and that there had been delivery on Dáil reform.  I was struck by that because nobody on the opposite benches said they were very happy about the budget.  Even the Taoiseach acknowledged on television that there was serious hardship and he took no pleasure in it.  He had a demeanour which could not be worse if Clara lost the county championship.</p>]]></content:encoded>
	<dc:date>2009-04-08T12:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
</item>
<item rdf:about="http://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2009-04-07.326.0&amp;m=773#g356.0">
	<title>Financial Resolution No: 2: Income Tax | D&amp;aacute;il debates</title>
	<link>http://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2009-04-07.326.0&amp;m=773#g356.0</link>
	<description>We do not know on what basis the valuations will be done. </description>
	<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p pid="356.1">We do not know on what basis the valuations will be done. </p>]]></content:encoded>
	<dc:date>2009-04-07T19:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
</item>
<item rdf:about="http://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2009-04-07.326.0&amp;m=773#g349.0">
	<title>Financial Resolution No: 2: Income Tax | D&amp;aacute;il debates</title>
	<link>http://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2009-04-07.326.0&amp;m=773#g349.0</link>
	<description>The first point I wish to make is that these measures are likely to have a major deflationary impact.  We have to seriously consider in light of the current state of economic activity the...</description>
	<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p pid="349.1">The first point I wish to make is that these measures are likely to have a major deflationary impact.  We have to seriously consider in light of the current state of economic activity the implications of that.  In the October budget there was an increase of the equivalent of 1.5% of GDP.  In February 1% was taken out and now 2% will be taken out over nine months.  In other words, the effective total GDP effect will be approximately 5%.  International literature indicates that 2% is a heavy hit.  In any western economy one cares to consider, 2% is a heavy hit.  This is a hit of the order of 5% taken over the year.  That is enormous in an economy projected to contract by 8%.  When the Minister for Finance went to take out €1.8 billion in taxes, that was more than most sane economists recommended.  I sincerely hope we are not around to pay the price for it as the year goes on.  </p><p pid="349.2">In addition to that, these resolutions are opposed from these benches for the reasons that they pull back the threshold further.  It is not only that the levy is being doubled, it is that the resolutions pull back the thresholds further.  As a result, they are more punitive on lower paid people and the overall impact is more severe.  Add that to the implications of the increase in the PRSI threshold and effectively for most workers the new PRSI threshold means that most of them will be caught in that spiral as well.  The reduction in the thresholds at which the levies apply, the doubling of the levies, the increase in the PRSI threshold and the doubling of the health levy added together will have a huge impact on people in the PAYE sector.</p><p pid="349.3">There might be some relief in the criticism of the Government if, in fact, it had addressed some of the categories that traditionally had not been paying their fair share.  For example, there is a minimum shaving with regard to the reliefs available to landlords.  From memory, the estimated take is approximately €90 million as compared to a possible €800 million, so it is tokenism.  The Government does not acknowledge the existence of tax exiles, and perhaps there is a certain symmetry in this, seeing that they do not exist in terms of contributing to the cost of running the services in this State.  Out of sight, out of mind, they are not referred to or included at all.</p><p pid="349.4">If one looks at the effect of the measures today and add them to the effect of the October budget, one sees that extraordinary costs are being imposed on average workers.  Somebody on the national wage, say, £15,500, will pay €1,154 per annum.  Somebody on €30,000 will pay €1,680.  Somebody on €40,000, the modest end of the middle income spectrum, will pay €2,600, or €50 a week more.  Somebody on €75,000 will pay just short of €5,000 - €4,842 or €93 per week.  These are very savage cuts.  Those who wrung their hands and called for more savage measures on the taxation front have got them today.  The balance has erred in terms of the amount taken out of the economy in further tax increases.  It must inevitably have a further deflationary effect on an economy facing a steep downward trajectory.</p><p pid="349.5">The proposal from the Labour Party for a new rate of income tax of 48% for those on incomes of €100,000 and above would be a much fairer way to have addressed it.  In making reference to the minimal gesture regarding landlord relief, I notice that, of course, commercial property is entirely excluded.  Overall it means that those who are caught in the net are going to be squeezed until the pips squeak while the situation regarding those who are outside the net is for another day - in effect, they must wait for the report of the Commission on Taxation.  We are one commission or committee away from facing it now.  While we all seem to be agreed in this House that what is required is the broadening of the tax base, like St. Augustine it is a case of, “Not now, Lord”, not yet.  We tip the forelock towards broadening the tax base, but we inflict the optimum of punishment on that core segment of taxpayers already caught.</p><p pid="349.6">As soon as people have an opportunity to reflect on today’s figures, they will be in disbelief at what they find, taken together with what they paid following the budget in October, what public servants paid in the pension levy, the 1% levy, now to become 2% and then 4% and with the threshold being brought down.  This is a very serious development.</p><p pid="349.7">These are the more serious aspects of the resolutions before us.  People may hold views with regard to the excise duties or whatever, but these considerations are relatively minor in the context of those before us.  There are macroeconomic implications of the take here, which totals almost 5% of GDP in the fiscal year for an economy that is contracting at the rate that ours is.  That is a very serious situation, it goes too far and I ask the Taoiseach to acknowledge that.</p>]]></content:encoded>
	<dc:date>2009-04-07T19:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
</item>
<item rdf:about="http://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2009-04-07.86.0&amp;m=773#g210.0">
	<title>Supplementary Budget Statement 2009 | D&amp;aacute;il debates</title>
	<link>http://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2009-04-07.86.0&amp;m=773#g210.0</link>
	<description>Get ready lads, get ready.</description>
	<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p pid="210.1">Get ready lads, get ready.</p>]]></content:encoded>
	<dc:date>2009-04-07T16:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
</item>
<item rdf:about="http://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2009-03-26.249.0&amp;m=773#g257.0">
	<title>Industrial Development Bill 2008 [Seanad]: Second Stage | D&amp;aacute;il debates</title>
	<link>http://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2009-03-26.249.0&amp;m=773#g257.0</link>
	<description>I am a late substitute for my colleague, Deputy Penrose.  In the short time I have had to examine the Bill, it seems it is not one of very great moment.  It seems merely to give legislative...</description>
	<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p pid="257.1">I am a late substitute for my colleague, Deputy Penrose.  In the short time I have had to examine the Bill, it seems it is not one of very great moment.  It seems merely to give legislative underpinning to a decision that has already been taken on the change of mandate for SFADCo and a few related technical matters including the raising of the grant thresholds, the bringing of the BMW region into more consistent formation and so on.  However, this debate also provides an opportunity to point out that the weakness of the indigenous sector in Ireland is again highlighted in the present crisis.</p><p pid="257.2">All the reports from Telesis right up to Ahead of the Curve have highlighted the weaknesses in the indigenous sector and that is nowhere more evident than in the Shannon region.  If a major multinational withdraws there is still devastation for the region.  We recently saw the incredible damage the decision by Dell has done to employment there.  Notwithstanding this being identified back in the 1980s by the Telesis report and a number of reports since then, including the Culliton report and Ahead of the Curve, we still have not managed to build an indigenous sector in this country that one would expect in a modern, European state that has been in the business of industrialisation, albeit coming to it late, for a number of decades.</p><p pid="257.3">SFADCo was the first and only attempt at regional development in Ireland.  Although there were costs associated with it, it has made a valuable contribution.  It probably makes sense to give Enterprise Ireland the role on indigenous industry in that region.  Over the years SFADCo went through many changes of mandate and remit and this is only the latest one.  The inherent tardiness in our being able to construct a vibrant indigenous sector is still at issue.  The Minister of State said the Bill has the support of Enterprise Ireland and SFADCo, therefore I presume that it is no longer an issue in the region.  The question is how we make it work.</p><p pid="257.4">I have no great issue with the structures and changes set out.  However a number of issues arise from what the Minister of State has said.  Do we, as he says, have more than 2 million people in work, or has that information come from the word processor before Christmas and does it need to be updated?  Has the enterprise stabilisation fund made available any grants yet?  Is it operable?  The Minister of State claimed the fund will complement the banks’ commitment to small and medium sized enterprises under the recapitalisation scheme and should facilitate much of the restructuring that is needed for viable companies selling on the home market.  I wonder to what extent the Minister of State and the Department are fooling themselves that SMEs are getting reasonable access to credit lines from the banks.</p><p pid="257.5">The Minister of State cannot construct a position on the basis of anecdotal evidence but some of it is very worrying.  This week I have been dealing with a small company involved in energy-efficient public lighting and which won two significant contracts, as close to blue-chip contracts as one can get, and intended to employ four more people.  However, it required credit of €30,000 for four weeks and was refused by Bank of Ireland.  That is not the only case I have come across, and colleagues on all sides of the House have had similar experiences.  I do not purport to know everything in all these cases about what might be in the bank files and I acknowledge other considerations must be taken into account but it is disturbing when one sees testimonials to quality and evidence of the contracts, some of which are significant, that small amounts still cannot be accessed by companies such as this, as well as the implications that will have for us in the worsening employment climate.</p><p pid="257.6">When he replies I would like the Minister of State to elaborate on the claim that client companies of Enterprise Ireland, EI, chalked up additional export gains of €1 billion in 2008.  We are in the hole we are in not only because revenues from the construction sector have fallen out of the system, but because of what has happened to exports for more than five years.  When the Minister of State refers to “export gains”, does he mean additional value in excess of the  €1 billion in 2008?</p><p pid="257.7">On the question of his canter over the global economic turmoil and his somewhat tentative confidence that “a number of key projects will be announced by the IDA in the coming three or four months”, he seems to suggest that the pipeline has dried up and 2009 will be a particularly baleful year, as many of us have anticipated.  I would like him to address this when he replies.  He might also take time out to give me the Ladybird guide to the difference between the growth fund and the new stabilisation fund to which he referred because I am not as familiar with this area as I used to be.  I am not sure I understand the difference.  The latter fund seems to be intended to assist client companies of EI that win export contracts but I do not know if that is the difference between them.</p><p pid="257.8">Several times in his contribution, the Minister of State referred to the investment, changes and developments that have happened in research and development in recent years.  Research and development helps to anchor companies in the State, which is a valuable and important policy objective.  I published the first White Paper ever on science, technology and innovation in 1996.  With all due respect to my colleagues at the time, including the Leas-Cheann Comhairle, and the Opposition of the day, the amount of attention given to innovation in those days politically or administratively was thin.  I welcome what has happened in the interim, particularly the establishment of Science Foundation Ireland, the development of PRTLI, the significance attached to research in our universities and so on.  However, what assessment has been conducted over the years of the net value in terms of commercialisation and job creation arising from the significant investment in research?  I do not know off the top of my head of any academic assessment of the value for money we are achieving in this area.</p><p pid="257.9">I raise this issue because of the focus currently on the initiative by Trinity College, Dublin, and University College, Dublin, and their new alliance.  I welcome the direction in which the initiative is going but I am not sure having read reports of the announcement that there is anything new in the initiative other than the co-operation between the two universities but perhaps there is.  I was struck that 30,000 jobs were promised in the announcement, although the statement issued subsequently referred to “up to 300 companies and thousands of smart economy-based jobs”.  The reference to 30,000 jobs is not in the statement.  I wonder if there is a reason behind that.</p><p pid="257.10">I draw the Minister of State’s attention to an article in <i>The Irish Times</i> yesterday written by Dr. John Scanlan, who is described as “the Director of the commercialisation office at NUI Maynooth”.  The article is relevant to the Bill and to the role that will be given to EI in respect of the Shannon region.  Essentially, he called for commercialisation to be put on a par with research.  That gear shift is necessary in policy making in this area.  He outlined the mission of SFI, which it was founded in 2000 with the aim of “helping build in Ireland research of globally recognised excellence and nationally significant economic importance”.  He stated the universities have tended to do quite well with the first part of the remit but perhaps less well with the second part.  He said traditionally it “was not seen as their role to commercialise that research or to work with companies”.</p><p pid="257.11">The two university heads referred to the new enterprise corridor between UCD and TCD and the State investing €650 million but I do not what element will be provided by the private sector.  In any event, it will be a significant investment of public money.  We need to be assured that we are moving in the direction of putting commercialisation on a par with research.  There must be a drive in innovation and commercialisation of research to ensure investment is turned into jobs, ultimately, and that is the purpose of the investment.  I would welcome the alliance that the two universities have announced if it is a statement of a move towards funding universities directly to engage in commercialisation.  It is overdue.  Some of the institutes of technology, the former regional technical colleges and the Dublin Institute of Technology, also do valuable work in this area.  I am not exactly sure where the new alliance was born.  It appears to be less a creation of the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment or her Department than of the Department of the Taoiseach.  I presume there are good reasons for that.  It is important to get a grip on how we get best value for the significant sums of taxpayers’ money we are spending in this area, how the investment in research is commercialised to create jobs, how to spread the money and assess it, what oversight mechanisms are in place and so on.</p><p pid="257.12">Dr. Scanlan says that our total research expenditure for 2009 will be approximately €500 million.  The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT, spent approximately €800 million on research in 2008, setting up 20 new companies.  We could spin out companies at the rate of one per €20 million compared to MIT at one per €40 million.  We all hope that one of the companies spun out will be another Iona Technologies, which came from Trinity College, or another Google, which came from Stanford, both of which Dr. Scanlan mentions.  That happens, however, at best once in a decade.  This investment will spawn more conventional small and medium-sized enterprises, SMEs, but is no less important for that and if we get a new Iona or international company, so much the better.</p><p pid="257.13">Will the Minister of State tell us in his reply what role he envisages for the Shannon Free Airport Development Company, SFADCo?  Has the enterprise stabilisation fund paid out any grants and, if not, when does it intend to commence doing so?  Are the export gains a net addition to exports in the previous year, which is a meaning one could take from the Minister of State’s script?  The Labour Party will support the principle of the Bill although there may be some technical matters to discuss on Committee Stage.  Deputy Varadkar made a reasonable point in focusing on the conflict between the project size and approval mandated for some other State agencies and the arrangements we are making here.  It has always been accepted, however, in Irish governance that when IDA Ireland comes calling, it gets what it wants.  I suppose that, to some degree, is because it has performed well on behalf of the State, but oversight is no less important.</p><p pid="257.14">The point about committees is also well made.  The raging fury manufactured outside the House about committees has nothing to do with the number of committees.  Our friends in the media would be quite happy to see 166 committees here provided the chairperson did not receive a stipend.  That is the problem.  The mock fury about how many committees there are in the House is manufactured indignation.  We need committees that are properly resourced and do their job.  Never has that been more relevant than in this case and science investment in particular.  People ought to be informed and skilled to do their jobs.  In a House of 166 Members, it is probably the case that there are too many committees, but we could focus and resource them better.</p>]]></content:encoded>
	<dc:date>2009-03-26T12:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
</item>
<item rdf:about="http://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2009-03-26.249.0&amp;m=773#g255.0">
	<title>Industrial Development Bill 2008 [Seanad]: Second Stage | D&amp;aacute;il debates</title>
	<link>http://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2009-03-26.249.0&amp;m=773#g255.0</link>
	<description>I would like to give ten minutes of my time to Deputy Morgan.</description>
	<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p pid="255.1">I would like to give ten minutes of my time to Deputy Morgan.</p>]]></content:encoded>
	<dc:date>2009-03-26T12:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
</item>
<item rdf:about="http://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2009-03-26.10.0&amp;m=773#g233.0">
	<title>Order of Business | D&amp;aacute;il debates</title>
	<link>http://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2009-03-26.10.0&amp;m=773#g233.0</link>
	<description>Thank you.</description>
	<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p pid="233.1">Thank you.</p>]]></content:encoded>
	<dc:date>2009-03-26T11:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
</item>
<item rdf:about="http://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2009-03-26.10.0&amp;m=773#g231.0">
	<title>Order of Business | D&amp;aacute;il debates</title>
	<link>http://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2009-03-26.10.0&amp;m=773#g231.0</link>
	<description>Quod scripsi scripsi. A third Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform has taken office since a definite commitment was given in this House that legislation on management companies would be...</description>
	<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p pid="231.1"><i>Quod scripsi scripsi</i>.</p><p pid="231.2">A third Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform has taken office since a definite commitment was given in this House that legislation on management companies would be introduced.  The current Minister is supposed to bring forward the legislation.  There is an added urgency to this because, as Deputy Stagg observed, some of these companies are going bankrupt.  Did I hear the Tánaiste say that the Minister will bring the legislation before the House in the next term?</p>]]></content:encoded>
	<dc:date>2009-03-26T11:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
</item>
<item rdf:about="http://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2009-03-26.10.0&amp;m=773#g229.0">
	<title>Order of Business | D&amp;aacute;il debates</title>
	<link>http://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2009-03-26.10.0&amp;m=773#g229.0</link>
	<description>I will take up the Ceann Comhairle&acirc;��s offer to ask the Minister for Finance later today about a small company who sought to raise &acirc;�&not;30,000 from the Bank of Ireland for four weeks in order to...</description>
	<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p pid="229.1">I will take up the Ceann Comhairle’s offer to ask the Minister for Finance later today about a small company who sought to raise €30,000 from the Bank of Ireland for four weeks in order to undertake two blue chip contracts and was refused.  The money to which Deputy Costello referred is, among other moneys, supposed to be available for lending to business.  However, I will observe the Ceann Comhairle’s strictures on this matter.</p>]]></content:encoded>
	<dc:date>2009-03-26T11:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
</item>
<item rdf:about="http://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2009-03-26.10.0&amp;m=773#g22.0">
	<title>Order of Business | D&amp;aacute;il debates</title>
	<link>http://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2009-03-26.10.0&amp;m=773#g22.0</link>
	<description>It is not correct for the T&Atilde;&iexcl;naiste to put on the record of the House that this has been discussed for three months.  It was concluded three months ago and is only being brought to the House,...</description>
	<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p pid="22.1">It is not correct for the Tánaiste to put on the record of the House that this has been discussed for three months.  It was concluded three months ago and is only being brought to the House, now.  That is my point, so she is entirely wrong. </p>]]></content:encoded>
	<dc:date>2009-03-26T10:30:00+00:00</dc:date>
</item>
<item rdf:about="http://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2009-03-26.10.0&amp;m=773#g20.0">
	<title>Order of Business | D&amp;aacute;il debates</title>
	<link>http://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2009-03-26.10.0&amp;m=773#g20.0</link>
	<description>A point of order, Ceann Comhairle. </description>
	<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p pid="20.1">A point of order, Ceann Comhairle. </p>]]></content:encoded>
	<dc:date>2009-03-26T10:30:00+00:00</dc:date>
</item>
<item rdf:about="http://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2009-03-26.10.0&amp;m=773#g18.0">
	<title>Order of Business | D&amp;aacute;il debates</title>
	<link>http://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2009-03-26.10.0&amp;m=773#g18.0</link>
	<description>That is the law. </description>
	<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p pid="18.1">That is the law. </p>]]></content:encoded>
	<dc:date>2009-03-26T10:30:00+00:00</dc:date>
</item>
<item rdf:about="http://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2009-03-26.10.0&amp;m=773#g13.0">
	<title>Order of Business | D&amp;aacute;il debates</title>
	<link>http://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2009-03-26.10.0&amp;m=773#g13.0</link>
	<description>These are reasonably complex measures that the Minister is requiring us to refer to committee on Wednesday next and return to the House the following day.  The Government is in possession of some...</description>
	<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p pid="13.1">These are reasonably complex measures that the Minister is requiring us to refer to committee on Wednesday next and return to the House the following day.  The Government is in possession of some of these tor three months. If we take, for example, the first one, the note says that the three-month period in respect of these proposals will expire on 12 April.  Therefore, the Minister has been sitting on it for three months, yet now seeks to have it referred to committee next Wednesday and expects it back in the House the following day.  This is part of a pattern in the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform and is not acceptable.  It is not the way we should treat instruments such as this which have to be approved by the House. </p>]]></content:encoded>
	<dc:date>2009-03-26T10:30:00+00:00</dc:date>
</item>
<item rdf:about="http://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2009-03-11.111.0&amp;m=773#g182.0">
	<title>Order of Business | D&amp;aacute;il debates</title>
	<link>http://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2009-03-11.111.0&amp;m=773#g182.0</link>
	<description>It will only be a matter of time before the legislation appears.</description>
	<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p pid="182.1">It will only be a matter of time before the legislation appears.</p>]]></content:encoded>
	<dc:date>2009-03-11T12:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
</item>
<item rdf:about="http://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2009-03-11.111.0&amp;m=773#g166.0">
	<title>Order of Business | D&amp;aacute;il debates</title>
	<link>http://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2009-03-11.111.0&amp;m=773#g166.0</link>
	<description>Will the Taoiseach get the Government to intervene in the matter?</description>
	<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p pid="166.1">Will the Taoiseach get the Government to intervene in the matter?</p>]]></content:encoded>
	<dc:date>2009-03-11T11:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
</item>
<item rdf:about="http://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2009-03-11.111.0&amp;m=773#g164.0">
	<title>Order of Business | D&amp;aacute;il debates</title>
	<link>http://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2009-03-11.111.0&amp;m=773#g164.0</link>
	<description>A Cheann Comhairle, there are many owner-driver taximen hurting.  There ought to be a moratorium on the issuing of new licences for a while.  It has gone from one extreme to the other.</description>
	<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p pid="164.1">A Cheann Comhairle, there are many owner-driver taximen hurting.  There ought to be a moratorium on the issuing of new licences for a while.  It has gone from one extreme to the other.</p>]]></content:encoded>
	<dc:date>2009-03-11T11:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
</item>


</rdf:RDF>