Jimmy Harte (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to discuss the issue of job creation. I imagine he agrees that eight minutes is not enough and that the Seanad and the Dáil could speak about this issue for many days.

There has been a good deal of positive news, albeit slowly. However, we are moving in the right direction. Sometimes the public believes jobs are not being created, as all we hear about is job losses, but in certain sectors there is job creation, which is good.

I welcome the Minister's innovations, including Microfinance Ireland, the temporary partial credit guarantee scheme, the development capital fund and the loan guarantee scheme. Last week I met Mr. John Trethowan of the Credit Review Office and his staff to get their views on the progress of the office and how it was helping small business. I agreed totally with him that its work was progressing well. I am unsure whether he is of the same opinion of me, but when the economy starts to turn, it will not happen overnight; rather, there will be a gradual upturn and the banks must be ready for it. They should not close doors when the times comes for them to re-finance businesses. The Credit Review Office is doing tremendous work to face up to the problem where small and large companies are in trading difficulties. It works alongside the county enterprise boards in this regard. I call on all Members to encourage small start-up businesses to meet the county enterprise boards with their accountants before meeting the banks. Mr. Trethowan is encouraging them to do this also. In certain cases the Credit Review Office is not getting through, but this is not the fault of Mr. Trethowan; rather, it is the fault of accountancy bodies or the banks. The more people use the Credit Review Office, the more credit that will flow. We must get credit flowing.

At the weekend I was at the local cinema. The cinema may be a barometer of the economy because everyone goes to the cinema, whether one is a millionaire or someone who simply seeks some entertainment at the weekend. The manager commented that he had noticed how busy the cinema was. However, in recent years, coming up to Christmas, as the budget was introduced demand dropped but then picked up again as people became more confident later in the following year. If we provide confidence and certainty in the budget and do not suck any more money out of the economy, cinemas will prosper. The cinema is the closest barometer I can offer for the economy without going into technical and fiscal quotations.

I welcome the loan guarantee scheme. I read about the ¤250,000 female entrepreneur fund that was launched recently. Will the Minister circulate the details of the fund? Donegal County Council was represented at a conference held in Boston last week. One of the themes was related to jobs promotion on both sides of the Atlantic for Irish people. A group of female business people, Donegal people living in Boston, are keen to link up more with projects in County Donegal. The fund mentioned would be an ideal source of funding for them. Perhaps ¤250,000 may not be enough and we need more, but how the money is to be spent is a matter for the Department to consider.

Recently, I spoke to representatives of some small companies in the Donegal region who wanted to become involved in the health care business. Some of them have ideas which I have sent to the Minister who has acknowledged them. They want to become involved in the health care business and are relying on research and development, the funding for which must be increased.

CoLab is located at the Letterkenny Institute of Technology and comprises a small group of companies working in software, advertising, innovation, small-scale manufacturing and other areas. The companies are going global and are a microcosm for the economy at large and how we should develop. These people are working with one desk and a chair but are getting results. The research and development support they need should be more readily available.

Senator Mary Ann O'Brien spoke about the sickness benefit scheme that the Minister for Social Protection is considering introducing and I have asked business people in my own area how they feel about it. The response was - and this is something I know to be true after 25 years in business - that in private business there are very few people who take long sickness breaks. It is not because they are any fitter or healthier than others but because of the nature of private business. Absenteeism is not really a problem in the private sector but it is in the public sector. If the Government wants to make savings in that area, it should tell the public service managers to deliver the same efficiencies that exist in the private sector, where the rates of absenteeism are much lower. Having done that, the Government may discover that it does not have to introduce any sickness benefit scheme. All public service departments should be able to deliver better efficiencies because it is done in private business all of the time. I can only speak from my own experience but I do not remember any of my staff being off sick for long periods of time. Perhaps I was lucky with my staff but I believe that is the general consensus among business people. I agree with Senator O'Brien's view up to a point but there is room for the public service to step up to the plate in this regard.

I urge the Minister to be mindful in the budget of the fact that small and start-up businesses need cash in the economy and in peoples' pockets. There is no point having a nice car without a supply of diesel or petrol. We need cash in the economy so that people can go to the cinema, buy popcorn there, buy a burger on the way home and have an extra few euro to spend at the weekends. That is what will make the economy move again and until that happens, the economy will continue to stagnate. We have our own problems here but we also have our own solutions. We have a great record on the export market and if we can bring that success and innovation to the domestic market we will come out of this crisis far quicker than other countries. I thank the Minister for his time.