Feargal Quinn (Independent)

I welcome the Minister for Finance, Deputy Brian Lenihan. We are glad to have him in the House on the first occasion since he took up his new post.

I have six points to make. When I opened one of my first shops back in the 1960s, I was on the shop floor and I saw my professor, the dean of the faculty of commerce in UCD, doing his shopping. I introduced myself to him and he asked me what I was doing there. I told him it was my shop and that I had gone into business. He said, "Isn't it wonderful that one of my students has gone into business?" How the world has changed. In those days, there was no belief that people would leave school or university and set up in business. I ask that the Government would make sure we encourage entrepreneurship. A couple of years ago I met the Secretary of Commerce in the United States. Her words to me were that her job is not to create jobs but to create the environment so that others can create jobs. My first point is that we would make sure we encourage enterprise.

On my second point, I have travelled much in the past couple of years and have visited Estonia, Panama, Brazil and Argentina. In each case, although I was there to speak on the grocery business, the first thing I was asked was to explain about the Irish economy and how well it is doing. We are in a very competitive market. Others are trying to take our business away from us so let us do nothing that upsets our competitiveness.

My third point concerns the success of foreign companies. I could not get over the figures when I examined them — 980 foreign companies in Ireland, 140,000 jobs and a corporate investment from the United States of €83 billion, which is more than the €73 billion which India, China, Brazil and Russia combined have made. Let us do nothing to upset the investment opportunities for outsiders coming to invest in Ireland.

My fourth point concerns Northern Ireland. We now have an island community and a new organisation, InterTradeIreland, has been established. Our ability to break into international markets as a combined country, North and South, is huge. There is a surplus of graduates in the North of Ireland and we can make use of the opportunities there. The Small Firms Association is already setting up networking opportunities. Let us encourage that to take place.

My fifth point concerns education. Article 179 of the treaty refers to the research and development opportunities that we will enjoy when it is ratified, which I assume will happen.

Sixth, optimism is required and we must not talk ourselves into pessimism. I was pleased to see the ESRI's report today and to note its optimism. There is a danger of complacency and it should be avoided.

Let us ensure that we encourage entrepreneurship and do nothing to damage it. Let us also ensure we recognise we have a competitive marketplace and do nothing to damage that. Let us encourage inward investment and join Northern Ireland in networking and acting as a unit to penetrate international markets. Above all, we should ensure that we continue to invest in education, particularly in research and development and science and technology. Let us not be complacent and let us be optimistic and realistic. The Minister is the right person in the job. We look forward to what he will say to us and also to what he will do for us in the next few years.