Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I second the proposal by Senator Ó Clochartaigh to amend the Order of Business. Any names put on the record today were put on the record yesterday by the Minister, so I cannot see how anybody's reputation has been impugned.

I ask the Leader for a debate about the setting up or expansion of small businesses in this country. I do so having recently met people from a small food-based artisan company who wanted to expand and develop their product. After difficult negotiations with two banks, finance was provided for the project, and subsequent to that is a roadblock of the significant number of regulations from the Departments dealing with agriculture, food and the environment. The people in question had looked at France, Germany and Italy, but in this country the regulations are so cumbersome and difficult that they may walk away from this project which could create 12 or 14 jobs in west Cork. I am not saying it is the fault of this Government and it is something we have had to deal with in Ireland for a while. There should be a debate on the issue as in France, Germany and Italy, the state agencies seek to help people progress these projects after finance has been secured. In Ireland, unfortunately, for the past ten or 15 years the regulations have been more cumbersome and we seem to have the attitude of hindering any progress. It is shame we are over-regulated in Ireland.

I do not speak of doing anything underhand, but if the regulations that apply in three of the original European Union states of France, Germany and Italy are at a much lower level than they are in Ireland and jobs that are most welcome in rural Ireland and that we badly need, are being stymied and held back by over-regulation, we must do something. It was not an easy task to get the banks to provide the funding but that job has been done. However, the regulations are so severe and cumbersome - there are 14 pages or 15 pages of regulations to be complied with - that the person who wants to develop the project and to expand an existing small business employing 14 people is finding it very difficult to do so. The situation is crazy. We should have a debate in this House on this serious issue. I hope the Leader will facilitate a debate along the lines I suggested yesterday on the creation of sustainable jobs in rural areas, as opposed to them being announced in major cities.