Garret Ahearn (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will not need five minutes. I only need a minute or so. In fact, my voice is nearly gone so I will only need a second or two. I welcome the Minister of State and his departmental staff to the Seanad. He outlined the Bill very well. It will have the support of the Minister of State's party in the Seanad. He also outlined the benefits it would bring and what it would mean for companies if the referendum on 7 June is successful in terms of the ease of applying for a patent and having it accessible not just to Ireland but to 17 and potentially 24 countries around the EU. If we do not vote for it in the referendum, it will mean that if companies apply for a patent in Ireland it will be confined to this country and if they want to get a patent in other countries they will have to do it individually in every single country. As the Minister of State articulated very well, that would have an impact on small to medium size businesses more than any others.

We as a party pride ourselves on supporting enterprise and businesses to the best of our ability. Nowadays, in a modern Ireland, businesses are not alone competing within their own country but right across the world, especially within the European Union. By having this referendum, which I hope will pass, it would support businesses in every village and town in Ireland if they have a good idea and they want a patent and to expand and do well on the back of it. We must do anything that we as a Government can do in that regard. The Minister of State and the Department are doing everything they can to try and make things as easy as possible for businesses to succeed. It will be important to deliver this key measure for certain businesses on 7 June. The referendum will certainly have my support.