Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)

Job creation is at the top of the Government's agenda. It is the driving force behind so much of our work in stabilising the public finances and getting the banking system working again. It is the reason at a time when there is a significant current budget deficit, we are continuing to invest so heavily in our capital programme, in building necessary infrastructure and investing so much in enterprise, research and development. The challenge presented by the live register figures is one the Government is working hard to overcome. We are conscious that people across the country want to know what actions we are taking to ensure Ireland will be best positioned when this period of economic turmoil comes to an end. If we have been remiss in regard to anything, it is in getting the message to the public about what we are doing.

While I will elaborate on a number of these points, I want to set out a portion of some of the work the Tánaiste has undertaken as Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, together with me, the Minister of State, Deputy Dara Calleary, and the Minister of State, Deputy Conor Lenihan, in the period to date. The initiatives taken include, among others, job creation through research and development and the development of intellectual property assets in Ireland; the introduction of the employment subsidy scheme to help retain jobs in vulnerable exporting companies; the introduction of the enterprise stabilisation fund to help protect jobs in exporting companies hit by current difficulties; mandating comprehensive strategy reviews in IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland and Shannon Development; putting in place a code of conduct for business lending to SMEs enacted in order that SMEs know where they stand in regard to the banks; and establishing a credit supply clearing group to tackle the credit supply issue, establish the facts and take on the spin and myths in order to get to the bottom of what we are trying to do, that is, make sure credit flows to the small and medium business sector.

Work is ongoing on a proposal to the Government for the establishment of a targeted loan guarantee scheme. We have successfully introduced a commitment by central government to pay its debts to business within 15 days rather than 30. There has been a revamp of public procurement policy to ensure greater access to public contracts. Two separate Company Law Acts have been introduced, the first to toughen our company law regime against potential abuse and the second to ensure Ireland is best positioned to maximise the attraction of job creating foreign direct investment. We have achieved the introduction of new tax changes to support jobs. We have also secured the introduction of a PRSI exemption for employers creating new jobs this year. We are targeting enterprise funding and resources at new areas for job growth such as the green enterprise sector. Despite the financial position, we are prioritising and investing significant capital moneys in research and development, science, technology and innovation for future job growth. We are rolling out a new marketing campaign to encourage investment in Ireland from our foreign direct investment target markets and promoting Ireland as the innovation island internationally.

We have put in place an unprecedented level of training and activation measures to assist those seeking employment. We have established new and innovative programmes to keep people in jobs which are deemed vulnerable and to get graduates work experience. We are opening up training and activation opportunities to private and voluntary sector providers through the €20 million labour market activation fund. There are new types of FÁS courses to train and retrain people for jobs in new sectors such as the green economy. There has been an increase in the number of places available on community employment schemes. There has been a successful application of the European globalisation fund for former Dell employees and two other applications are in progress for other large-scale redundancies.

I am confident the Government is pursuing the correct policies which will enable the economy to once again return to growth and, more importantly, employment creation. As a small, open economy, Ireland is especially reliant on foreign trade. We are focused, therefore, on ensuring we can take advantage of the upturn in international growth and trade. Encouraging and positive trends are visible. In recent months, for example, international organisations such as the IMF and the OECD have upgraded their economic forecasts. In its most recent update in January the IMF forecast global economic growth would expand by 4% in 2010 and 2011. This represents a substantial upward revision from its previous forecast published in October.

Established trading partners such as the United Kingdom, the eurozone and the United States are all expected to experience growth in the medium term, representing renewed opportunities for our exporters. Similarly, Irish exporters are making inroads into less familiar emerging markets in which growth remains buoyant. In the past 18 months Irish exports have performed extremely well in comparison with our international counterparts, which is significant. There has been a global recession and a downward trend in international trade, yet Ireland's exports have held up well, something which should be recognised and promoted. We should send every positive signal we can nationally to encourage a change in mindset and point out that Irish exports are competitive and finding markets at this very difficult time. It is worth examining the export figures and noting they have stabilised and that there has been growth in some areas during a time of world recession, which is significant. The issue of competitiveness which feeds into the cost of our exports is something which is also having an effect. The early indications for 2010 with regard to exports, something on which I can only adjudicate based on the flows of trade through ports until we have proper collated data, suggest the trend is that exports are being retained, something everybody in the House will welcome. Our goal is to maintain and enhance the policy environment which has facilitated this resilient performance and that will drive future export growth. We estimate that every job in Ireland associated with exporting sustains another job in the domestic economy.

International investment will continue to be a key driver of employment, exports and growth. We will continue to market Ireland as a location of choice for the newcomer and existing investors. In September the Tánaiste launched the IDA's new innovation-focused overseas market campaign designed to position Ireland as the pre-eminent location for companies seeking to invest in future innovation. During 2009 we won a total of 125 foreign direct investments. Almost 70% of these came from existing IDA clients who are making further investments in this country, reinforcing Ireland's reputation as a key strategic global business hub. Again, that is very important. There has been a rationalisation by many multinationals in recent times because of the international recession. It is very significant, therefore, when companies located in Ireland continue to invest here. We are confident that this will continue. That focus of attracting foreign direct investment into Ireland is critically important and the IDA is charged with that responsibility. Any time we go abroad we consistently promote the country.

There are only a few issues that are critically important. I have stated this on many occasions in both Houses of the Oireachtas and elsewhere. There is a world recession. Politics is often played out and we have our cut and thrust debates within the parliamentary system but we must base arguments on fact rather than have fictional debates. There are a number of simple facts. Yes, there is a world recession and a financial credit crisis. It is true that Ireland has inherent difficulties because of the international aspect but equally there was our dependence on property for a number of years, with the accompanying problems that flowed from that source when the financial credit crisis came along.

Critically, Ireland is still attracting foreign direct investment. There are several reasons for this. We have a very flexible educated workforce. We also have a tax and regulatory regime that is conducive to investment and doing business. In the broader context our reputation as a location that is both foothold into Europe and, vice versa, springboard into the United States, is recognised internationally. Because of our investment and infrastructure over recent years there are many other ways in which we are seen as a hub for internationalisation. The financial services centre is critically important but is often forgotten in commentary. It is a very impressive success story. Again, it is internationally recognised and is among the top 15 financial services centres in the world in terms of the amount of funds managed there. Approximately 25,000 people are employed in the centre.

We will continue to promote Ireland as a centre for inward investment but it is important that when people speak, in this Chamber or anywhere else, they base their debate on the facts. These have been outlined in previous speeches and I shall continue to outline them today. Otherwise we undermine ourselves and make it more difficult to convince people to look on Ireland as a location. I urge Senators and everybody concerned to keep to the facts in this debate.

In these turbulent economic times, it is extremely significant that many of the world's leading companies continue to invest in Ireland in a wide array of activities including high-end manufacturing, global services and research, development and innovation. In absolute numbers, Ireland is moving up the global rankings in employment in research and development, having risen from 19th to 11th in the latest global location trends survey. That is a testament to the science, technology and innovation, STI, strategy being pursued.

During 2010, IDA Ireland will continue its work to capitalise on our quality workforce, creativity, international attitude to business, attractive incentives for research and development and favourable tax climate to attract multinationals to set up base in Ireland as a launch pad for markets in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Already in 2010, there have been seven IDA supported announcements in Dublin, Galway and Tullamore and there will be a further significant announcement for the north east this week. We are also working to develop opportunities for Ireland to become a key European hub for the international funds industry. In this regard, I look forward to the proposed changes in the Finance Bill to strengthen Ireland's competitive edge.

The Tánaiste has tasked the IDA with developing a new strategy for the future direction of foreign direct investment and this will be published shortly. It will include specific initiatives which the IDA will undertake to retain existing and secure new foreign direct investment. This strategy will identify opportunities in foreign direct investment international competitiveness so we can maximise our potential to attract markets, while stressing the importance of restoring our relative foreign direct investment.

Enterprise Ireland delivers a wide range of supports to Irish companies, targeted at the specific requirements of clients throughout all regions to ensure they develop to their full potential in terms of innovation and exports which, in turn, will stimulate job creation. In recognising the significant changes in the current economy both in Ireland and globally, Enterprise Ireland has prepared a recovery strategy to identify actions that will be undertaken to help clients. The agency has refocused its efforts on strengthening and sustaining companies of strategic importance through a range of initiatives focused on the needs of its client base. The Department is drawing up a new strategy at present as our previous one came to the end of its natural life in 2009. This new strategy will look at key and emerging markets to see where Ireland should have a presence in supporting indigenous industries that seek markets on a continual basis. There is fluidity in the world. Periodically certain markets may go into recession while other parts may be in boom time. We have to be able to identify those markets and anticipate to the best of our ability where we should have a presence. In recent years there have been enormous rates of growth in Brazil, India, Russia and China, for example, which are known as the BRIC countries. There are other emerging markets where we must have a focus and a presence. It is critically important that the Irish Government, through its agencies, supports indigenous Irish industries that are trying to step outside the island, find international markets and internationalise themselves. Enterprise Ireland has been very successful in supporting those types of companies. We sometimes forget that Irish companies have been very successful in internationalisation. One need only consider CRH, Glanbia or Kerry Group, for example. There are more than 80,000 people in the United States employed by Irish companies. People may not realise that. There are many companies to which we can point both for their experience and as an indicator that Irish companies can be successful. They may have a competitive advantage, as they do in many areas, but they also have the innovation, ideas and research facilities and entrepreneurship. They have been successful in stepping outside the island and finding international markets.

The county and city enterprise boards continue to provide support for small businesses in the start-up and expansion phases. Job creation is an inherent consideration in the activities of the boards. In 2010, the county and city enterprise boards will continue to assist micro-enterprises throughout the country by direct grant aid to businesses and project promoters and also through the provision of a range of other important business supports such as mentoring, business training and business advice designed to help to stimulate indigenous enterprise creation and boost employment creation.

The development of the "smart" or innovation-based economy is the key challenge facing Ireland as we lay the ground for economic recovery. We are well aware that our enterprise and investment landscape must continually transform itself to stay competitive. The model we strive for today as the basis of our economic renewal is the smart economy which builds on our dual strengths of innovation and entrepreneurship. The Government has made a major commitment, through substantial public investment in the strategy for science, technology and innovation, SSTI, 2006-2013, to making such a transition to the smart economy. This whole-Government strategy comprises research and the application and commercialisation of the fruits of that research, across six Departments.

In December 2008, the Government reinforced the importance of the investment in the SSTI through the paper, Building Ireland's Smart Economy — a framework for sustainable economic renewal, which prioritised continued investment in science and engineering infrastructure and research. For us, building a smart economy is about the development and application of human capital — the knowledge, skills and creativity of people — and our ability and effectiveness in translating ideas into valuable processes, products and services and, ultimately, into employment.

In this context, Science Foundation Ireland is playing a critical role in building our competitive academic research base while maintaining a strong focus on excellent research. This work has been highly rewarding. Today researchers funded by Science Foundation Ireland are connected to over 300 companies in Ireland which support the employment of 56,000 people. The objective of the research and development programmes administered by our state agencies is to harness the benefits of research collaboration for the benefit of the Irish economy. This entails building up a strong cadre of indigenous firms and attracting and further embedding leading multinational companies here. This is the essence of the Government's strategy for STI and it is proving to be the engine of economic growth. At this time of scarce economic resources, the Government has allocated €600 million to STI departments and agencies in 2010. We are confident the net gain from such sustained investment will be more and better jobs.

If we look back over progress made in recent years, it is clear investment in the higher education sector is now having a significant impact in terms of Ireland's human capital development, feeding through to the attraction of foreign direct investment and commercialisation. For example, last year 49% of the IDA's foreign direct investment wins were research, development and innovation-related. These were valued at €500 million and built upon initial investments made through Science Foundation Ireland and the Higher Education Authority. We are working to encourage indigenous enterprises to prosper. Evaluations of State support for research and development show that research and development performing companies have higher rates of growth in turnover, exports and employment and much higher productivity and export intensity than low research and development performing companies.

New high potential start-ups will make a substantial contribution to export and job growth. In 2009 Enterprise Ireland supported 73 such companies across a range of knowledge-intensive sectors, including life sciences, biotechnology, medical devices and telecommunications, and a number of specific niche areas such as compliance and risk management. These companies are expected to create significant numbers of new jobs in the next three years, demonstrating that entrepreneurs across the country are capable of creating high value, export-focused businesses which support employment. Only by implementing these policies and targeting our limited resources can we hope to position Ireland as a competitive, innovative location in which to do business, grow business and employment and create prosperity.

Ensuring enterprises receive support to assist them through the current difficult period is the key to safeguarding employment. This is why the Government has introduced a broad range of enterprise support measures. Last year it introduced the enterprise stabilisation fund which aims to support viable but vulnerable companies experiencing difficulties because of the current economic climate. Companies receive funding to support a range of activities, including market development, productivity improvements and development. In 2009, €58 million was spent on 181 projects, supporting approximately 7,500 jobs. The fund continues to attract a high volume of applications in 2010.

My colleagues and I are also keen to support small and medium enterprises and I am particularly aware that there is a difficulty for some businesses in accessing credit. To address this issue, the Minister for Finance announced in budget 2010 a new credit review system which will examine the credit policies and practices of the banks, particularly for SMEs. This new system will inform the Government as to what further action might be necessary to secure the flow of credit to Irish enterprises and, through publication of the analysis from the review process, help to ensure the performance of the banks participating in NAMA will be transparent to all.

The Government is conscious of this situation. To take what has happened in recent years, the bank guarantee was introduced on 29 September 2008 and was a critically important decision by the Government. At the time there was panic in international markets and a financial meltdown following the collapse of Lehman Brothers earlier that month.