Feargal Quinn (Independent)

I thank the Minister for his kind words during his contribution. I have found that "Feargal Quinn's Retail Therapy" has been a real education for me, whatever about educating and helping some of the others who were involved. Some of the businesses that were involved in that television show - we are doing our third series at present - are generations old, while others are just start-ups. The programme to which the Minister referred was about a young woman in Ennis, County Clare, who had started her business only six months earlier and was facing challenges which to a very large extent were the result of her way of life. She had a ten-year-old daughter, yet she was having to get up outrageously early to turn on the ovens to bake cakes and bread. What she needed was to realise that if anything went wrong with her life she would lose the business, as she did not have any backup. She had not gone to the banks because she felt she had no chance of getting money. One of the messages I have sent out is that a number of banks will lend money and are able to lend money, but we must show people how to make the case for a loan. That young woman, Carrie, went to the bank and explained what she wanted, showed them the figures and told them what she was going to do, and she got the money she needed. She is doing very well now. I should not speak of one individual in particular, but the same things apply in other cases. In another case, a husband and wife team needed about €10,000 to do what I thought needed to be done. Her response to me was that if she had €10,000 she would not spend it on my suggestion but buy new stock to sell. However, she did spend it on building a window and suddenly discovered that people walking past could see the product she had and the change in the way of life she had. I mention these examples because some of the changes do not just depend on money. Enthusiasm, which practically all entrepreneurs have, plays a large part in business.

The other thing to understand is that one is going along to a funder, somebody who is going to fund an entrepreneur. It does not have to be a bank or credit union. One must put oneself in the lender's shoes and realise that they are not likely to give money unless a strong case is made and their mind is put at rest because they know that they will get paid back.

I welcome and congratulate the Government on the initiative. It is exactly what is needed. We should do more to encourage entrepreneurs. One way we could let them know is to introduce a safety net for self-employed people to allow them to contribute PRSI and enjoy the same entitlements as employees.

In terms of funding for SMEs and set the conditions for start-ups to flourish, the Government should also focus on developing crowd funding, an issue I have raised previously. Crowd funding, which is an American term, is now worth $2 billion a year to the United States. We could establish a national website to harness the power of online investors who pledge investments in new businesses. The scheme has been successful in the United States. Think of the potential. The Irish diaspora could sign up to a national website to pledge funds for promising home-grown ideas. I would love to hear the Minister of State's view on it and to see if we can do something like it. We need a regulatory framework for crowd funding because the sector is a grey area. Who governs such online pledges? What are the legalities for non-residents? What about online impostors or the disclosure of certain information to investors? We need legislation in order for the market to grow, to control it and to make it safer for investors to crowd fund Irish businesses, including microenterprises.

Let me explain crowd funding. The United States has made moves to plug gaps by introducing legislation called the Entrepreneur Access to Capital Act. It will create a regulatory framework to allow private business use crowd funding to access hundreds of millions of dollars. In simple terms it allows small commercial enterprises, such as individuals with ideas or small businesses, to utilise crowd funding over the Internet by selling non-public securities to the public through social media. It asks for money over the Internet in exchange for some promise or return at a later date. It will allow small enterprises to raise up to $2 million annually from investors pledging no more than $10,000 or 10% of their annual income. Online microfinance was previously limited to charities and non-profit organisations. Now that the Bill has been passed in the United States, SMEs will soon be able to secure investment. Will the Minister of State be able to do anything in the sector? One can invest as little as $250, which is about €200, and as much as $10,000 in a small start-up business that has managed to sell its wares on the Internet. This is worthwhile and, on that basis, it can help.

The Irish Credit Bureau gives information to lenders in help them decide whether to give credit to a business or an individual. The bureau also compiles positive information, for instance if loan repayments have been made on time. It does not compile information from retailers, trade creditors, utility companies or financial institutions. Others, including the World Bank, have highlighted the fact as a deficiency in the Irish system. A fuller picture must be provided when a business or individual applies for credit, and the ICB must take account of all of the information to allow businesses to access vital credit. For instance, if a supplier or trade creditor has paid off his or her bills on time for the past five years but has missed some mortgage repayments due to recent difficulties in recent months, they may not be able to access credit. That is unfair. All of the information must be taken into account. Some countries have introduced suitable legislation in the past year, including Lithuania and Spain. We could do the same here and it would benefit SMEs.

I know that the Minister of State is anxious to cut red tape, and we can. Part of the solution would be to get rid of systems we needed some years ago. A few years ago when I purchased my airline ticket, I was told I no longer needed a ticket, and I could not believe it. Air travel is now ticketless, one can imagine the savings that have been made. Ryanair was the first airline I discovered operated a ticketless system, but now no one needs tickets anywhere. Who thought of it? The concept cut red tape.

There are new ways to give credit to microenterprise. The Shawbrook Bank specialises in lending to small firms in the United Kingdom, and it will lend £250 million to SMEs this year. It is just one bank, but there are many others. It would be worthwhile for the Minister of State to examine the scheme.

The Minister of State deserves great credit. I am delighted he gave credit to the people accompanying him who worked on the legislation because I know such work does not happen by accident. The Bill is worthy of support and I am sure it will be as enthusiastically supported in this House as it was in the other House.