Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael)

We need to be reasonable. While this may just be a story, I appeal to the Minister, Deputy Burton, who will be in the House on Thursday, to quickly reconsider this. It is an anti-jobs move and is biting off the hand that feeds us. Employers are multipliers. They need to be encouraged, not discouraged. We know that SMEs are the lifeblood of this country.

This morning, I received three calls from employers, and I am sure others in the House received similar calls. One was from the operator of an SME employing seven people who said that the staff would have to be called in this morning and told they would be without jobs if this went ahead, and that the business would downsize to being a sole trader. Two other employers in Galway city told me they would offer their employees the opportunity to be subcontractors. What is the outcome? It is less revenue for the Government.

Let us be reasonable and get a message straight through to the Minister, Deputy Burton, that this must be changed. It is a bad move for jobs and the mantra of our Government is about jobs and getting people back to work.