Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

This week is also local enterprise week. On the local level, I know the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment is undertaking a number of online engagements with the local enterprise offices, LEOs. Excuse the play on the term but I am talking about the LEOs as opposed to Leo. I welcome that engagement. I had a Commencement matter on this issue this morning, specifically on the green for micro scheme. On behalf of the Tánaiste, the Minister of State, Deputy Troy, confirmed that as of today there is to be an announcement that this pilot scheme will be extended throughout the country. That is good and timely news for the 31 local authorities and it is timely that it should come at the beginning of local enterprise week.

I acknowledge the work of the LEOs. They do an amazing job in encouraging enterprise and supporting start-ups, but more importantly, they support people who have had a fall, who get up again and who try again. That is a great entrepreneurial skill for people who fail in business, through no fault of their own in many cases. I acknowledge it is local enterprise week. I thank the workers on the ground in the LEOs across the 31 councils because it is important. The old proverb about great oaks from little acorns is very true and is applicable to enterprise. Also, great enterprise happens when people have small thoughts and little ideas and they are courageous, ambitious and determined to get them over the line. We need to support those people.

I had the opportunity to look at the Tánaiste's Twitter account the other day, something I do not do often because I do not really engage much in social media. I was struck by an apt entry which said:

Today's jobs numbers lay bare the devastating impact the pandemic has had on the economy & employment. Over 400k jobs have been lost & a quarter of our labour force is now unemployed.

In the next entry on his Twitter account he says, "A new National Economic Plan will be put in place to ensure we return to full employment no later than 2023." It is important that the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment acknowledges all of those issues and it is great that he does so. He has a great way of being concise in his messaging and he has hit the button with those tweets. I would ask if we could have the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment come into the House at some stage to address those challenges because they are enormous, particularly in light of Covid.

I take this opportunity, which many politicians do not do but which I want to, of acknowledging the untimely death and sad passing of Fr. Enda McDonagh, a theologian and a remarkable man. He was the private chaplain to former President Mary Robinson, which many people would not know. He had no conflict between that work and his other work. His work on ecumenism and peace was amazing. He was an outstanding man who managed to stay in St. Patrick's College, Maynooth for many years. He turned down preferment and promotion. It is a measure of the man that he was made an honorary canon of St. Patrick's Cathedral, the national cathedral of the Church of Ireland, based in Dublin. That is important. I suggest that anyone who is interested in knowing more about this man would have a read of the obituaries column in Saturday's edition of The Irish Times. It was a moving and extensive piece about his work for Ireland.