Anthony Lawlor (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I was a member of the Joint Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation in the previous Dáil. In 2011, we were staring over a precipice. Senator Ned O'Sullivan's contribution was like an election speech. I hope he did not mean it and that the things he promised do not happen. In 2011, small businesses were failing rapidly. The then Government changed the bankruptcy laws reducing the time limit for businesses or people running businesses declared bankrupt from 12 years to three. There is no safety net for people who start their own businesses. Previous speakers have mentioned social welfare. Many people who fail want to try again and we should encourage them to try again. That is why I was delighted that the former Minister for Justice and Equality, Alan Shatter, reduced the bankruptcy limit from 12 years to three, and it has since been further reduced to one year. Most people who have that entrepreneurial spirit want the opportunity to try again if they fail. Previous Administrations failed them in that respect. At least this Administration recognises that entrepreneurs are the driving force of the economy.

SMEs face difficulties getting staff. We are at full employment now and we should not kid one another on that. People talk about a 4% unemployment rate but I recognise 5% or 5.5% as full employment because otherwise labour costs rise as companies compete for the same person. It is a difficult issue and we will have to bring people in from outside to fill this void. We must consider our visa system and how to get bring people in to fill key positions in the economy. It can be difficult particularly for multinationals and small exporters to get staff.

I like the recent links between third level education facilities and businesses. Educational institutions are gearing their programme to what business needs, which is important. We are still falling back, however, on the small manufacturing side by not creating enough apprenticeships. There are approximately 26 apprenticeship schemes in the country.It takes so long for that model to be set up. If one goes to Germany there are approximately 250 different apprenticeships. We need apprenticeships so that those companies in the manufacturing sector will be able to take on staff. Funding has been mentioned before. Banks have a difficulty with lending to entrepreneurs for start-up companies, but there are other sources of funding. When I was on the then Joint Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, initiatives on microenterprise and microfinance were introduced. The credit unions are out there. They are an alternative source of funding and they are not being allowed to fund small and medium businesses at the moment. Instead of trying to reinvent the wheel by using the post offices to set up a banking system, let us use the banking system we have, the credit unions. Let us allow them to assist small and medium enterprises wherever possible.

The last point I would make is one I have been harping on for a long time. Young entrepreneurs coming out of college are a real source of positivity in this country. The problem they have is access to funding. The real problem associated with that is that they have no credit rating. Banks will not lend to them and other sources of funding are not available. While the Minister of State has looked at the female side, he might look at young entrepreneurs, whether male of female, who are coming out at 22 or 23 years of age. They have a gift and we should support them as much as possible. Some of the microfinance money could be specifically targeted at young people under 25 who have good ideas.