John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Seanad for giving me the opportunity to discuss the issues in regard to small and medium-sized enterprises, an area in which I am especially interested. When I look at the membership of the Seanad, however, I wonder why I was invited, particularly when one focuses on competitiveness in the economy. There is an array of talent here which I am sure could make a great contribution to such a debate. One could take as an example Senator Shane Ross, from whose column in the Sunday Independent I have learned all I know about Irish business. Indeed, I have learned even more about competing because Senator Shane Ross has competed against the best, pulling the tails of commercial lions to the point that I wonder how he can dare enter a bank, sell a share, buy a house or use an airline. I admire his approach, however, and it is welcome that he takes on all the vested interests.

When one looks at competitiveness, I think of Senator Donie Cassidy and Deputy Mary O'Rourke. Perhaps they could come to the House to share their thoughts, or at least those thoughts which would not invite immediate removal from the Chamber. They are both experts on competition, branding and market share, masters in the art of dissemination and obfuscation and specialists in defining borders and crossing them. They know that competition is about a smile, a warm embrace and the sharp pulling of the rug from under the feet of one's competitors. In the presence of the truly great, who am I to speak? Speaking about competitiveness in Leinster House is like giving Tarzan lessons in crocodile wrestling — exciting but ultimately fatal.

Given all that, I am happy to be here and I acknowledge the presence of my constituency colleague, Senator John Paul Phelan, the Fine Gael spokesperson on enterprise. I am especially interested in the SME sector and the microbusinesses carried on under that heading because I come from that sector. I spent many years in business and know the ups and downs of it. I know how it affects people and families. I understand, therefore, the need for cost effective, light regulation and legislation in that regard to allow that micro element of the SME sector to develop and prosper.

We are reaching a point in our economy when the SME sector is about to come centre stage more than ever before. We have seen outside investment and money brought into this economy by companies which have set up here and provided long-term jobs. Such companies continue to be welcome here. We have seen the work of Enterprise Ireland and of all these small to medium-sized businesses at county level. They will be centre stage from here on in. The future of the economy will centre around their activity. The creation of new jobs, research and development and innovation will stem from their activity within the economy. We must focus very much on these businesses.

More than 250,000 small businesses operate in our economy and they employ almost 800,000 people. We will only be able to foster the emergence of such enterprise if the operating environment for business, particularly small business, is supportive. This has been a key focus of Government policy. We have put in place policies and programmes which encourage the emergence of new business creations and facilitate long-term business survival. Examples of the actions we have taken include the positioning of our tax system as one of the most supportive of business in the world; the development of Ireland as a knowledge-based economy through the dedication of significant Exchequer resources to the promotion of research and development and especially innovation in the very important services sector; the introduction of the Better Regulation programme to tackle regulatory burdens, especially those faced by the business community; and the adoption of new strategies to support the enterprise sector, including small business, based on the reports of the Enterprise Strategy Group and the Small Business Forum.

The amalgamation of the existing Acts into a consolidation Bill will need to focus on, and understand, the SME sector. In the drafting of that Bill, there will need to be an awareness that one size does not fit all. We must be conscious that there are microbusinesses, small to medium-sized enterprises and large companies. The legislation, which is due in 2008, must focus very much on that area and understand the needs of business, particularly in regard to regulation.

The role of the county enterprise boards is very important. The 35 county and city enterprise boards were established in 1993 and are located throughout the country. The role of the CEBs is to provide support for microenterprises in the start-up and expansion phases, to promote and develop indigenous microenterprise potential and to stimulate economic activity and entrepreneurship at local level. The CEBs can support individuals, firms and community groups provided that the proposed projects have the capacity to achieve commercial viability.

The CEBs deliver a series of programmes to underpin this role and they can provide both financial and non-financial assistance to a project promoter. The forms of financial assistance which are available, subject to certain restrictions, include capital grants, employment grants and feasibility study grants.

The provision of non-financial assistance can take the form of a wide range of business advice and information services, management capability training and development programmes and e-business training initiatives. The county enterprise boards have been successful in developing a structure capable of both generating and tapping into enterprise at local level. County enterprise boards have been particularly effective in their ability to respond at local level to the needs of micro-enterprise. Through their involvement in a wide range of national programmes, county enterprise boards have assisted in transforming Ireland's economic landscape by providing a unique enterprise focus at local level through developing and stimulating indigenous enterprise potential. In 2006, county enterprise boards issued grant approvals totalling €14.4 million to the micro-enterprise sector and issued grant payments totalling over €10.6 million. A total of 894 projects were approved for financial assistance from the county enterprise boards while a total of 892 projects received grant aid. Over 2,000 net jobs were created in county enterprise board-assisted enterprises. Over 19,800 people participated on the various management training and development courses offered by the county enterprise boards.

In respect of the county enterprise boards in the south east, I recently launched their week focusing on entrepreneurial spirit and encouraging micro-enterprises to participate with county enterprise boards. It was a hugely successful week which was the first in the country. It should be mimicked by other regions to ensure that there is greater focus on each region relative to its strengths and weaknesses. In turn, it is my intention within the Department to continue to focus on county enterprise boards to ensure that the burden of bureaucracy is lifted from them, that they achieve the agenda they set out in the beginning, that they become easy to deal with and flexible in their approach and that we ensure best practice in the context of county enterprise boards as the model used across the country.

In the context of how we look at alternative energies, county enterprise boards are an area where we can focus on development in this area, ensure there is a growth of jobs assisting that sector and the new developments that are taking place and achieving what we wish to achieve in respect of our carbon footprint and greenhouse gas emissions. All of that can be achieved by including micro-businesses and small and medium-sized enterprises. In the context of county enterprise boards, there is also a need to focus on the growth of those companies into Enterprise Ireland clients. This is essential. There are far too many companies with less than 100 employees. This is the growth area. We need to focus on growing those numbers to become Enterprise Ireland clients and, thereafter, ensuring that they export and concentrate on that indigenous sector that could employ 100 or more people. In that context and relative to my own region in the south east, with which I am very familiar, there is a need to grow and expand that knowledge economy, based around our institutes of technology and moving on to have a university for the southeast.