Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael)

I am. If the Government listened to some of what the Senator had to say, it would make a difference because it dovetails with some of what I have to say.

I come to this debate as an employer in the past for five years, between the time when I was teaching and the time when I was elected to the Seanad. I have some knowledge, therefore, of what it takes to create jobs. I created six jobs, the importance of which is not to be minimised. Just over one year ago, with two others, I set up Job Creation Initiative Oranmore. Each month we hold a panel session to provide support. We provide expertise that could cost an individual up to €2,500. We have undertaken various initiatives. For example, our most recent conference was on the opportunities available in the green energy sector.

I will discuss generally what the State can do and entrepreneurs should do, as well as how to support entrepreneurs. The State cannot create jobs except for those in the public sector, and these are not multiplier jobs. Entrepreneurs can create jobs whereas the State creates posts or positions, many of which are necessary and worthy but by definition incur a net economic cost to the nation.

We must consider all the jobs created by the State and be honest about the proportion which is useful as against those which are wasteful and unnecessary. As Taoiseach, Deputy Bertie Ahern created many wasteful and unnecessary jobs. The proportion which is wasteful and unnecessary in the public sector now is up to 30% but if we had a slim and motivated public sector we would save up to €7 billion per annum, or a third of the public sector pay bill.

The State can only create jobs by allowing the risk takers in the real world to create jobs. It should do this in two ways. It must create the sectors with the most job creation potential and support them through modest tax concessions and grants. It should remove as many bureaucratic barriers as possible for the entrepreneur prepared to take risks. A friend of mine argues that if the gate is opened and we stand back, the multiplier will be let through. These people are able to create the wealth and hire people in a process that will ultimately solve the mess we are in. We need entrepreneurs who will create jobs and pay taxes that will fund our public services.

We need to target sectors such as renewable energy for domestic use and export, maintain existing high-end foreign direct investment and promote Ireland as an educator. Ireland has significant potential in international education; we currently make €500 million from Ireland as a provider of the English language whereas the UK makes €10 billion and Australia and New Zealand are the other providers. Why do we not make more? Our justice system and visa regulation in particular is not tied into education. We are losers in that respect and I have spoken about this on many occasions on the Adjournment.

Ireland can also be an entertainer and leisure destination. Culture means business and people love us as entertainers and for our culture. We should build on this and bring about multipliers in this way. The Government relied on Ireland as builder, which is all but over, and it has all but snuffed out other more sustainable sectors.

On top of this are bureaucratic barriers, including the planning process. Did the Minister of State hear what the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government came out with this morning about the planning process? I spoke to a man recently who has a quarry that is fully compliant but because the Minister has come up with a new regulation for quarries, the man will incur up to €40,000 in costs. The Minister should go after quarries which are non-compliant first. He will choke up the planning process and An Bord Pleanála, as well as the courts. That is how ridiculous the Minister is.

There is endless unnecessary and unquestioned paperwork and associated fees for many employers, an unreasonable delay in issuing licensing permits and slow payment by public bodies. There is unspoken hostility from some in the public service, including the unions, to those who they perceive as doing better on the outside. Those who were doing better on the outside in the past are no longer doing as well, and they have been our employers.

I will give an example through a case study. The current joint labour committees, JLCs, have had a frozen rate of pay for the past year and a half. The Government has decided to increase the rates to a level which is much higher than that agreed by unions and employees at the JLCs. The unions and employers are happy with the current rates because they facilitate the maintenance of jobs to some degree. An increase in the JLC rates will force employers to lay off people as they cannot afford to pay such wages. It is a death wish designed to drive more people on to the live register.

I know a large supermarket owner employing 120 people and because the JLC rate will be increased in the autumn he will close on a Sunday and must lose 10% of his staff. The Minister of State is part of the Government that has collective responsibility to address the issue before it worsens. Does the Minister of State want his Government's job creation policy to put people on the live register?

The State is currently close to being an enemy of the people as outsiders are seen as a nuisance and a threat. For example, an assistant director of IT in the HSE - the Minister of State will recollect the PPARS computer system - is an insider while an old lady on a trolley is an outsider. The hard political challenge is to intelligently cut away the fat and leave a much trimmer body of principal State employees who are motivated and proud to serve. It can never be perfect but it could be done over ten years with the right leadership and support for an informed and included public which is screaming for an answer and a plan. It is a significant task but it must be done.

Senators in this House have heard me say many times that the Taoiseach, Deputy Brian Cowen, should make a state of the nation address laying down a plan for the next ten years.