Paddy Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate the Minister of State, Deputy Breen, on his elevation to Minister of State in this portfolio. I have no doubt he will do a great job on jobs because he has first-hand knowledge of what is required from his work as a Deputy and as Chair of the committee in the last Dáil dealing with the development of the western region and the Shannon area. I have no doubt that he is pretty au faitwith what is required to bring jobs to the regions and Ireland and, as previous speakers have said, to bring full employment to the country by 2019 or whenever.

A number of important points have been raised by a number of Senators today and on the last occasion we had this debate. It is an important debate, especially given what has happened in the UK. We should be more proactive than we are and use this as an opportunity to bring more international companies and jobs to the country. We should use whatever means possible to do that.

Senator Mulherin raised an important question on local employment offices. Those offices are looking after the development, nurturing and fostering of jobs in SMEs with up to ten employees. These SMEs are the lifeblood of, in particular, rural areas. It takes enormous effort on the part of an employer to create ten jobs and it is much more difficult for a small employer to create ten jobs than it is for a large employer to create 500 jobs. This is well known to the vast majority of Members. There are so many obstacles in a small employer's way. Small employers have to get over so many hurdles and also face the challenge of a huge pay bill every Friday. There should be a bigger focus on delivering jobs, particularly in rural areas.

Given the current Government situation, which may be in place for the foreseeable future, responsible and autonomous regional development has to come into play. The Government and Parliament should examine the possibility of regionalising government and deploying more resources to the regions. The Western Development Commission plays a very important role in our region and similar commissions could be rolled out in other areas such as the Munster and Leinster regions. Such commissions should be strengthened and given more autonomy. Every week small businesses have to endure VAT, PAYE, PRSI, insurance costs, rates, water charges, development charges, bank fees and the cost of safety reports as well as the fees of accountants and lawyers. This is a huge task for the small business person.

IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland are to be congratulated for the job they are doing internationally. However, I would be much happier if Enterprise Ireland had a higher failure rate. I do not mean that I wish for companies to fail, but a higher failure rate would mean more companies on the verge are getting into the system. The rules are too stringent and off-putting to an awful lot of companies that are on the verge and trying to get their businesses across the line. Will the Minister of State carry out a survey of all the companies that avail of Enterprise Ireland funding as well as those that do not avail of such funding and those that were not successful when applying for funding?

The system is too cumbersome. People tell us that they would much prefer to go it alone without the hassle of Enterprise Ireland. Enterprise Ireland is a great brand and gives recognition all over the world. It is involved in so many companies and opens up so many opportunities. However, given the paperwork and hassle involved, the vast majority of people find it off-putting. Given the situation with the UK, we should relax some of the rules. Some of the people who are not getting in but are on the verge should be getting in. The difference between success and failure can be very small and some of the finest businesses have failed, be it for whatever reason. Perhaps it was for want of funding or support. Some of the greatest ideas did not get across the line because of being bogged down in paperwork or not getting the support needed at the time. The Minister of State should carry out a survey of this area and examine the feedback. He should go to those people and see what are the problems. I have no doubt he has spoken to many of those people over his time in the western and Shannon regions.

I will give the last of my time to Senator Higgins.