Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)

I thank Senators for their very interesting statements, their lively contributions and their questions so far. First, I will address the two questions asked by Senator Colm Burke. On supporting SMEs, I could not agree more with the Senator. The Irish economic model is a good one to highlight the importance of SMEs because we have already seen the upturn in inward investment and exports. That is what is driving the limited growth we will see this year. It is expected that we will achieve 1% growth for 2011. That is almost exclusively driven by exports. It is the domestic level in which we are suffering a general degree of stagnation. This is down to the challenges that have faced small and medium-sized enterprises, SMEs, over the past several years. Even before the crash, the costs of doing business were rising every year with increasing amounts of bureaucracy strangling many SMEs. This came into more focus over the past two years. However, there have been reductions in certain costs for businesses, particularly labour costs, which have made us more competitive. Ireland is now seventh in the world competitiveness rankings but we have much further to go.

The key issue for SMEs is access to credit. The Government, through the Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Jobs and Innovation, Deputy Perry, has put in place a commitment to underpin investment in SMEs in cases where the banks are not in a position to lend. This will come into force soon.

The European Central Bank, ECB, has a moral obligation to make available as much credit as is possible for viable businesses and projects in all EU member states. This is a responsibility the ECB's leadership is now taking more seriously than perhaps it had in the past because of the degree of the crisis. At the European Council meeting on 23 November, the Taoiseach made the specific request that the ECB would prioritise programmes countries — Greece, Portugal and Ireland — which was agreed in the Council's conclusions. While we do not have the full details of this yet, it is a substantial commitment. Already, officials from the Department of Finance are working with the ECB and other member states to see how quickly this commitment can be activated.

In July, agreement was reached to relax the co-financing requirements for the drawing down of funding from the Structural and Cohesion Funds. Obviously, the amounts involved for Ireland were much larger 20 years ago but these funds are still relevant. Last Saturday in Cork, I discussed concrete proposals with the regional authority and chamber of commerce which could use Structural and Cohesion Funds. The Minister of State with responsibility for SMEs, Deputy Perry, along with the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government through infrastructure projects, have roles to play in assisting businesses draw down from these funds and have a direct impact on the economy.

The Government is anxious for the European Commission's Single Market Act to be implemented. It is also a priority of the Polish EU Presidency which I know has suffered a certain amount of frustration when dealing with the European Commission to drive this project. The Single Market Act is the singular most important instrument available to the European Union to drive job creation and economic growth. While it is easy for multinational companies to access capital and credit across borders, it is a major challenge for SMEs. From visiting Paris and Berlin with Irish SMEs getting assistance from Enterprise Ireland, I have learned they cannot get access to venture capital or credit in other EU member states. A very simple tweaking of the rules will make it easier for these SMEs. The Single Market Act is on top of my agenda, as well as being at the heart of the Government's agenda.

I am committed to the Seanad becoming more involved in dealing with EU legislation, a point raised by Senators Leyden and Mooney. I spent my first six months in office prioritising the agenda of reputation-building in the European Union, restructuring how we handle and co-ordinate European affairs in government - in which we have made great strides in the past several months - and elevating the role of the Dáil and the Seanad in scrutinising European legislation.

Having been a member of the European affairs and scrutiny committees with Senators Leyden and Mooney, I believed the scrutiny committee needed to be abolished with the European affairs committee being the more appropriate body to co-ordinate the scrutiny of EU legislation. I am disappointed, however, the Committee on European Affairs has not stepped up to the plate in this regard. I will happily discuss with the committee better ways to implement EU legislation. The sectorial committees must be the vehicle for detailed scrutiny because they have the expertise. The European affairs and scrutiny committees are general committees and Members with general skills sit on them. It is a pointless exercise having them deal with the minutiae of sectorial EU legislation.

There is also a large role for the Seanad to deal with EU scrutiny. I am not suggesting Members do not have much on their plates as they are very busy legislating.