Mary White (Fianna Fail)

The Minister is welcome. I want to address the challenges facing indigenous Irish firms. My colleagues have spoken about the great success of the economy. However, since Senators Cummins and Phelan both raised the issue of closures, I want to make a few key points.

Indigenous companies in Ireland, particularly those in the manufacturing and internationally traded sectors, now face challenges which are different from anything they have experienced in the past. The combination of continuing cost increases and the ever-increasing attraction of lower-cost locations such as central and eastern Europe, China and India means that Ireland may not continue to sustain the types of businesses that were possible in the 1990s. The low-cost model is no longer an option for Ireland, but the Minister will recall Mr. Jim Power saying at the DHL awards last week that there was nothing essentially wrong with this and that it was better that wages were increasing, since we want to upscale the economy. It would be worrying if the wages had not gone up or if they were going down. It is important for Senator Phelan to get a lesson in economics and to learn why indigenous companies are in trouble. I have not heard any sound reason from the Senator or his colleague to explain why the businesses mentioned have not survived.