Fiona O'Malley (Independent)

-----and we have to deal with those problems. I listened attentively to Senator Twomey's speech because he spoke about the 1960s when Kerrygold was launched as an international brand. Now, it is well marketed and internationally recognisable as an Irish brand. It reminded me of the indomitable Irish spirit that can, for a small country, get out and market good products very well. As well as having a good product, one needs a good sales person and sales team, and that is what we have managed to have. Our ability to attract and become the biggest provider of software at a particular point in time was also quite remarkable. Irish politicians and business people did this.

The 300,000 jobs are mentioned as though the Government's integrated strategy will never be achieved. The proof of the pudding is in the eating. What have complexions of this Government delivered previously? We have delivered that level of employment and no one can argue with those facts. The notion that we do not have a hope of delivering anything again is an awful message to be sending out. The Opposition must get tired of delivering this negative message time and again. Ireland has got out of recession before and, against all types of odds, we have succeeded and led the way in many innovation areas. We will do so again. What we need is a belief in ourselves.

This goes to what happens in a team talk midway through a match when things are not looking good. One motivates one's people and team to get out and win and really go for the last bit because it will be over at a certain point. This is what I cannot understand about the Opposition. Consensus is breaking out to a certain degree, and that is welcome. We are beginning to no longer confuse the economy with the Government. The Opposition tries to kick the Government, but it should not kick the economy because we all have a responsibility for it and need to look after and protect it. No one will look after the economy better than the people. At least we are making progress in so far as the Opposition is keen not to fool or mislead the public into thinking there will not have to be hard choices. It is commendable that it is willing to participate in recognising the extent of the savings that need to be made.

This co-operation needs to come out in terms of job creation. The people who will build this economy are the Irish people, each and every one of us, through spending on home improvements or buying another car.

We are depending on each other to bring ourselves out of economic stagnation. The political class in this country likes to talk down the economy all the time. That does not inspire confidence in anyone. We have a particular responsibility with regard to job creation. I am sure many Members of this House know from experience in their own family lives that unemployment can have a debilitating effect on people. We need to avoid it at all costs. We can help to create employment by encouraging confidence in the economy.

I hope Senator Buttimer has been inspired by my speech. I hope he will deliver something positive. He is a positive individual, by and large. His instinct is to talk a good talk. I look forward to hearing him speak. I am sure he will not play the doom and gloom card. We all have the responsibility I have mentioned.

I wish to speak about the availability of credit to small and medium-sized enterprises. When we discussed the importance of the SME sector issue in the Chamber last week, we said it was important not to get complacent about the positive developments that are beginning to emerge. Other speakers have alluded to the improvements in access to credit. The Credit Review Office is a good invention. We can all come up with anecdotes, but they are not of much use if we are constantly listening to the same story. The Credit Review Office is asking people to provide tangible examples of where credit has been refused and to suggest how the question of access to credit can be dealt with. This small and cost-effective measure is offering great solace to businesses that are frustrated by credit flow issues. During last week's debate, I mentioned an engineering company that is unable to get access to a modest sum of money. As a result, it may have to make people redundant. That is really not what we are about. That is why it is important that SMEs can access credit.

I will conclude by referring to the Construction Contracts Bill 2010 which was before the House yesterday. I thought it would be discussed on Second Stage, but that did not happen. If I had spoken on the Bill, I would have made a point that occurred to me during last week's discussion, which I have mentioned. It is interesting that the Bill ensures that certain facilities are provided to the construction industry to make payments easier for builders. I welcome that provision because no one likes to see money tied up in any place. That said, I do not understand why the same facilities are not being provided to small and medium-sized enterprises, which we discussed last week. I will make that point again during the Committee Stage debate on the Construction Contracts Bill 2010. I hope it can be amended to give SMEs an opportunity to operate on the same level playing field. All businesses should receive the same treatment under the law.