Maria Byrne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House to engage with us on this important issue, which concerns employment and SMEs. As he is aware, I come from a small business background. My family has been involved in business for over 60 years. The supports being put in place by the Department are to be very much welcomed. Many SMEs struggled for a long time. The fact that there is now co-operation and collaboration between the Department and the SME sector is to be very much welcomed.

I served for 14 years on a local enterprise board. Such boards do great work to support SMEs. The Minister of State referred to female entrepreneurship. I saw a significant amount of work being carried out to encourage females to have the courage to start their own businesses. Incentives were put in place and experienced mentors were provided to some small business start-ups. Networking events were very positive in terms of people learning from one another. Training courses were also provided. Mentoring and collaboration programmes need to be built on and expanded because people from all walks of life can learn from one another, which is very important.

One important term is "encouragement". It is important that we encourage SMEs to know that they are not alone and to make them aware of the supports which are available. That is evident in the policies brought forward by the Department and the Minister of State. The Living City initiative encourages businesses outside of the Dublin region to expand and invest in their operations. While they may have considered doing so in the past, they may have found it prohibitive because they perhaps felt there were not sufficient tax exemptions or that costs were significant for some of the work which had to be carried out. People could be encouraged to live above business premises, which would raise funds for SMEs to invest in their operations. The expansion of the programme could be considered.

Start-up grants are available. Senator Reilly referred to insurance. Reference was also made to the rates that are set by local authorities. I am not sure that they have increased by 200% or 300%, but in some areas rates have increased while in others things are more balanced. It is not fair to expect SMEs to pay the same amount of rates as larger businesses because some are not able to compete. Some small businesses in parts of rural Ireland have found it very difficult to exist. We should put in place as many incentives as possible for such businesses in order to ensure their survival. After all, they are the heartbeat of many towns and villages. They are the main employers in parts of rural Ireland.

The news that the rate of unemployment is decreasing is a good message to hear. The current rate is just over 5%. This is important for development and shows the rest of Europe that we are open for business and are serious about the message we are sending out.I compliment the Minister of State and the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, for their work on job creation and for portraying a positive image. I would like to see more collaboration and encouragement and a greater expansion of the incentives the Minister of State mentioned for women entrepreneurs. It is disappointing that in 2017 only 28% of start-ups were created by women because many heads of industry are female.