John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)

They are responsive, they have the technology and a willingness and expertise to engage with the SME sector and business across the board. They are successful, not in catching people out but in assisting business to meet its obligations. If one is meeting obligations, one does not look on the Revenue Commissioners as a great scourge, as one may have done many years ago. The system is changing due to coaxing, cajoling, an understanding of the sector and a mix of technology.

The tech-check programme provides small businesses with the opportunity to access a highly subsidised independent technology check-up and help them to identify ways to boost productivity and profitability through the better use of technology. This programme is being delivered by the county and city enterprise boards. Projections to year-end indicate that 790 checks will be completed countrywide, as the programme becomes more fully embedded at national and regional level. After that assessment is made, we need to consider what is required by small businesses in terms of information technology. What is required may be beyond the financial capability of the company and more assistance may be required to such companies. The county enterprise boards and the Departments must be more flexible and we must respond to queries in real time so that business decisions can be supported in a way that is focussed, directed and supportive of the SME sector.

The Management Development Council has been established to drive levels of managerial capability within the enterprise sector. The council will benchmark Ireland's current management development provision while also developing a co-ordinated approach to building appreciation in the SME sector for the value and need of leadership and management skills. Two meetings of the council have been held to date.

The first Small Business in Ireland report was published by the CSO on 30 May 2007. This publication brings together for the first time a comprehensive set of statistics that clearly demonstrates the importance of the small business sector to our economy and has been widely welcomed by the business community and the Government. It gives a basis for direction and an understanding of the issues to which I referred earlier.

Reflecting the concerns of the forum, new guidelines to local authorities on the implementation of development contribution schemes under the Planning and Development Act 2000, issued by the Minister for Environment, Heritage and Local Government in May of this year, have emphasised the need for the impact of such schemes on our competitiveness to be taken into account. As we encourage micro-enterprises and the SME sector to develop we must understand what they face in requesting planning permission, fulfilling fees and meeting the contribution scheme. If we understand this development, a more even balance can be reached between counties so that we have a more similar system across the country.

The same point applies to rates. People have complained about the lack of uniform application of rates across counties. Businesses need to know where they are going and the costs involved. We need to spell out those costs so that they can be factored into business decisions. The burden of that cost would be lightened if it was done in this fashion. Decisions could then be taken more easily and the employment growth trend would be different.

To meet the economic challenges ahead we must sustain a high level of entrepreneurial activity in general and maximise the number of new businesses that are innovative, and that aspire to and are capable of significant growth. The environment in Ireland is highly conducive to entrepreneurial activity at present. The culture is also highly supportive of entrepreneurs and their activity. The economy remains strong, with buoyant consumer demand. There is general agreement that Ireland is characterised by a pro-business policy, which has been in place for many years and is supported by all the main political parties. The positive contribution of private sector initiatives and the enterprise development agencies in fostering and supporting a spirit of entrepreneurship is also generally acknowledged. Moreover, the sophisticated foreign direct investment sector provides a potential customer base for new entrepreneurs and a means of achieving indirect exports.

Based on various indicators, Ireland is only just behind the elite group of the most entrepreneurial countries in the world. Global Entrepreneurship Monitor research indicates that, in 2006, the equivalent of 80,000 individuals in the adult population in Ireland reported that they had set up a new business in the past three and a half years. When this figure is combined with those that indicated that they were actively attempting to do so, over 200,000 individuals or 7.35% of the adult population were new business owners or entrepreneurs engaged in planning a new business. This level of relative early stage entrepreneurial activity placed Ireland seventh within the OECD.

The importance of entrepreneurship was recognised by the Small Business Forum. The forum recommended that there should be a particular focus on the stimulation of latent entrepreneurial potential, particularly among women and ethnic groupings. If we are to be successful in meeting these challenges, we need to ensure that the spirit of entrepreneurship that appears to be flourishing becomes embedded in the consciousness of our people. The education and training sector will play a critical role both in developing entrepreneurial mindsets and in equipping current and future entrepreneurs with the skills necessary to strategically position new enterprises and then manage their subsequent development and growth. However, if we are to build a much greater number of competitive and innovative companies in Ireland, we must see many new businesses being created now and in the years ahead. The challenge is not only to generate a high level of new businesses but also to maximise the number of innovative businesses among them that subsequently develop to achieve high growth.

As a follow-up to one of the Small Business Forum's recommendations, Forfás published its report entitled Towards Developing an Entrepreneurship Policy for Ireland on 24 October 2007. The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment is currently working on the drafting of this policy statement with a view to submitting it to Government shortly.

I referred earlier to Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland. I acknowledge their valuable work on behalf of this country. IDA Ireland attracts businesses to Ireland and ensures those that are established continue to flourish and grow. I have been on a number of trade missions with Enterprise Ireland since my appointment in July and I am impressed by the level of entrepreneurial activity interfacing with the biggest names in commerce throughout the world. Small companies from Ireland are doing business on the world stage, winning contracts that make one wonder how it was achieved. They succeed on the basis of risk, establishing companies in the market and gaining respect in these markets, a key factor of their success. I have seen businesses in Dubai, Moscow and Canada. The Irish in business are to the fore and every contract they win feeds into the Irish economy, creating and sustaining jobs. It also ensures that big companies will defer to the Irish involved in commerce on matters such as supplying secure banking technology for branches throughout the world. We need to build on that enterprise and we cannot allow ourselves to become complacent. We must examine the synergies among IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland, Bord Bia and others actively involved in promoting Ireland and the activities of business interests within it to ensure we capitalise on what is happening in the marketplace.

There is perhaps a need for Enterprise Ireland to reach out to the members of the Irish diaspora who are embedded in the economic systems of other countries, who are respected for what they do and who hold key positions. Attracting these people into becoming actively involved with Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland may help us to open up new opportunities that will yield further success in the context of job creation in this country.

We cannot ignore the changes taking place in the world. We cannot continue to complain about matters that are not within our control. We must consider those aspects over which we have control and change the way we operate in terms of altering our focus and starting to react in real time. We must work in partnership with the companies involved and ensure the contracts which are badly needed to underpin the development of the SME sector and of the businesses within it are won.

As stated earlier, small and medium enterprises and microenterprises, which I will never forget to mention, are coming centre stage. We need to reach out to them and ensure they grow. We must also support them with our policies. I accept that such policies may have to change, perhaps overnight. In addition, they must take cognisance of the way small businesses operate in order that the latter, which are now central to our economy, continue to flourish.

Irish people have a great entrepreneurial spirit. They passionately believe they can make a difference and can create employment and businesses for themselves. We should build on their enthusiasm and work with them as we move into the future.

There is a need for Enterprise Ireland to continue to focus on change. There are two constants in business, namely, change and risk. We need, in conjunction with Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland, to take risks with the business interests to which I refer. I accept we are dealing with taxpayers' money and that we must obtain value for such money. However, we must also take risks. If we are working in true partnership, then people must recognise that those on the other side of the equation in this regard are taking risks, not only with their own assets but also in the context that they might fail. Irish people often consider failure as being the end. A failure is merely something that happens on the way to being successful.