Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State should be given credit for the way in which he supports small and medium enterprises. It is important that the Government offers support to small and medium enterprise owners and employers because they are the backbone of our communities. Without them, we would have a very different economic outlook today.

On the wider picture of the summer economic statement and the forthcoming budget, I made the point that it is incumbent upon us in this House, even though we have no direct role in the budget itself, to have a debate in advance of the budget. Sometimes, all we hear is a particular voice shouting and articulating a particular proposition but, on the whole, we, as a Government, need to look out for and support small and medium enterprises – I note that Senator Casey is an employer too. We saw what happened with Covid and we have seen this in other parts of the world with regard to enterprise. We need to be pro-enterprise. The Minister of State and the Tánaiste have been very proactive around small and medium enterprises and we need to keep that going.

There is a balance that needs to be struck. We need to have the support of the people I and other speakers have mentioned. Senator Seery Kearney made reference to childcare, as did Senator Sherlock. It is important that we also have this discussion. As a former Chairman of the committee dealing with children’s affairs, I know that is an area we need to go back to in terms of offering further supports. To be fair, Senator Seery Kearney has been very proactive on the childcare industry in this House and in the committee.

This Bill and the next Bill on the schedule today are two good bills for workers, and we should not forget that either.