Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)

I thank Senators for their support for this Bill. It is important it is accepted as quickly as possible in the context of the aggregate amounts I mentioned in the Bill. From a technical perspective, I do not anticipate any significant issues will arise. We will look forward to Committee and Remaining Stages in due course.

It is important to take a flavour of what was discussed this afternoon. I will not get into consensus politics, although on occasion it is appropriate. It is also appropriate to stand up for oneself. I will stick to consensus today. There is a consensus that a number of key issues must be addressed. I agree with Senator Quinn that the role of the Government is to create a situation within the economy whereby entrepreneurs can grow and flourish and we can attract foreign direct investment.

The way we can do that and make this country an attractive economic location, is in a number of key areas where we have a talent pool which we can continue to expand over the next number of years. Foreign direct investment is very important to this country and we must continue to be attractive to FDI.

We can do so by being competitive. It is important to say that we had a considerable number of new foreign direct investments last year and will have a number of new ones this year. I had an opportunity to travel to meet a number of these key companies.

One key message they gave me was that the flexibility and talent of our workforce is very important. Our tax incentives were also attractive, as were the flexibility of employment organisations which were in a position to come together very quickly and provide for the needs of a company. We have a key indication on support for research and development, and have a very significant investment programme over the coming years in this area and in collaborative work. These are the incentives we can use, and they are important and appreciated. On the basis of those incentives we will continue to be a very attractive location.

I met all of the indigenous agencies this morning. The key message concerned the price of energy, which was an issue across the board from both FDI groups and Enterprise Ireland. It is an issue we are grappling with and is one of which the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Eamon Ryan, is acutely aware. He is working with us to try and address this matter.

Another issue was the cost of local charges. I am sure all Senators are aware of the criticism whereby people find local charges are equal to grant aid given by an agency and, therefore, there is no benefit in investing in an enterprise. I know local elected representatives will deal with that issue, as we have to here. We must also ensure that we sustain employment and continue to have a talent pool.

All these matters are important. In building a smart economy we will find ourselves in a situation where our indigenous industries will provide FDI for other parts of the world, which is something we would all like to see. We will take our own talent pool and use it to expand further. There is no doubt that opportunities lie in the services sector. Manufacturing is still very important, as are all ancillary services.

Yesterday we had discussions with the retail trade, which is a very important part of the economy which employs almost 300,000 people. It is by creating the atmosphere and economic environment whereby we can encourage and support employment that we will move ourselves out of our current position. We must deal with the issue of our public finances and our banks and continue to invest in skills and people, and create support mechanisms for all of our companies.

The economic difficulties are almost like an economic war and that is the attitude we should all take. It is on that basis we can all come together and work together to address the serious economic issues. There will be further discussions on the economy and the policy framework which we are working on within the smart economy programme, and which will address these concerns. I reiterate the role the social partners will have, which will be pivotal in working towards what we would like to achieve, namely, an upturn in employment opportunities and supporting those in employment.

I thank Senators for their views and support on the Second Reading of this Bill. I am sure we will have further discussions on these issues in due course.