Conor Murphy (Sinn Fein)

I welcome the motion and the amendment. It is timely that we begin to pursue the conversation about small and medium enterprises and microbusinesses, which, as others have said, make up the vast bulk of economic activity across the country and account for some 90% of employment across the State. We need to move quickly beyond the conversation to more affirmative action. There is, and has been for some time, a need to grow a productive, indigenous, industrial base of microbusinesses, SMEs and family business in high-quality, high-wage and high-productivity sectors. The economy has become unbalanced. That is even more stark with the recent economic shocks we have seen and the tariffs. Our high dependency on large multinationals is starting to expose a vulnerability in our economy that needs to be made up by a proactive approach to supporting and growing indigenous businesses, the small and medium enterprises, family businesses and microbusinesses, and ensuring they get to a place of productivity.

It has long been recognised that larger companies tend to be more productive because they can afford to invest in innovation and research and development. They can afford to develop the skills of the workforce, which is a bigger challenge for smaller businesses. It is difficult to manage a business and do that at the same time. We need a programme to ensure we can drive productivity in small and medium enterprises. That need was epitomised by the EU regional competitiveness index, which showed that Ireland ranks quite far down the list. There is much work to be done to improve the situation.

If we want to match our ambition for entrepreneurship, microbusinesses, SMEs and family businesses, we need the State economic agencies, namely, Enterprise Ireland and the local enterprise offices, to be expanded in terms of their roles. We also need greater use of funding for Microfinance Ireland, MFI, and Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland, SBCI, funding schemes so that small businesses can access flexible credit.

As I said, the spirit of the motion is correct in giving support to that important sector. However, we need more definitive and affirmative actions. As I said, the geopolitical and economic issues we are facing reinforce the absolute urgency of building up this sector. We are vulnerable in that we have a high level of multinationals. We do not know what may roll out in respect of tariffs and further global economic uncertainty. The more we can build up the smaller industrial base in particular, the more stability, strength and depth there will be across the economy. It is good to speak about these issues but we want affirmative action.

We have overly bureaucratic and burdensome support schemes, as was referenced by other Senators. That is, time and again, shackling our SMEs and denying them the support that such schemes are intended to deliver.

We cannot talk about supporting small businesses without discussing key issues, such as infrastructure, housing, sky-high energy costs and the need to build North-South trade on the island rather than using what is an emerging crisis of economic instability to row back on commitments to pensions, the minimum wage and sick leave. We do not need a race to the bottom in terms of wages and working conditions. We need to control those issues and invest in our infrastructure and supports for small and medium enterprises. We must build up that level of productivity and have a whole-of-government approach to supporting small businesses and protecting our enterprise economy.

I wish the Minister of State well. The success she will have in these areas will mean success for a crucial part of our economy that there is a general sense we want to see grow and thrive. It is not just about supporting businesses. I come from a small business family myself and such businesses are critical right across the country. Their importance, however, relates to the stability of the longer term economic future of Ireland and our reliance on our own indigenous entrepreneurship, the need to support it and make sure it grows, and to ensure it becomes more productive in the time ahead. I wish the Minister of State well.