Ivana Bacik (Independent)

I welcome the Minister of State to the House and thank the many representatives from the business organisations who were invited to the House for taking the time to attend and for putting forward constructive suggestions and ideas to Members. All Members are highly conscious of the difficulties faced by small businesses and those who are self-employed in this difficult time. I am grateful to the Minister of State for setting out part of what the Government is attempting to do in this regard. It should be noted the Government's priority is to restore consumer and international confidence in the Irish economy. All the actions and all the ideas that have been discussed should be carried out within that climate. I refer to two key ideas that are worth putting forward. One is a measure suggested by Dublin Chamber of Commerce, namely, to raise the threshold for the cash basis of accounting for VAT from €1 million to €2.5 million. I note Dublin Chamber of Commerce has put forward a detailed proposal in this regard. In addition, I support the idea suggested by others that the range of firms that can tender through the e-tender process for public sector contracts should be increased. For example, some of the tender requirements impose thresholds that are far beyond the reach of small and medium-sized enterprises in Ireland.

Many really useful suggestions have been put forward during the debate on this Private Members' motion. I thank all my colleagues who have contributed, as well as all the representatives who have attended the debate. Finally, as everyone is establishing his or her business credentials, my grandfather came to Ireland from Czechoslovakia in the 1940s and set up a venture that began as a small enterprise, namely, Waterford Glass.