John Whelan (Labour)

I do not wish to go back over points that have already been made. I thank the Minister of State for what was a thorough, serious and genuine response to the contents of the motion. I also thank the stakeholders who have taken time out of their own busy schedules to attend this debate. While I acknowledge Members on this side are in government, they are not detached, removed or remote from the reality of life. I believe that having a detached Government is what got us into the present circumstances in the first place. The current Administration is grounded in reality and this debate is not simply about tea and sympathy. It constitutes a genuine attempt to engage with the small business sector and to act on its concerns. This motion is the first step in such a process. All good legislation and policy has its genesis in good ideas that are well crafted, properly communicated and then executed and there have been some highly positive and constructive suggestions made by Members across the House.

My suggestion is that the late payment legislation should be extended to multinationals. They benefit from a good tax regime in Ireland and while they provide important employment, this should not give them the opportunity to long-finger payment to small Irish suppliers. Consequently, they should be included within the aforementioned legislation. While I understand the transparency the Minister of State seeks to achieve, the reality is that late payment remains a serious problem. For most companies, the waiting period has gone past 70 days, whereas the average was only 52 days before the introduction of the legislation. Consequently, it should be extended to include multinational companies.