Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 232: To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the degree to which he has identified issues that might impede competitiveness in the areas for which his Department has responsibility; the action taken or proposed in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36329/11]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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The issues that impact on competitiveness cut across a range of Government Departments and include factors such as business costs, fiscal policies, the quality of our education and training systems, and economic infrastructure. I am working with my Ministerial colleagues, through the Cabinet Committee on Economic Recovery and Jobs, to address many of these issues and to identify actions that can be taken to improve our competitiveness and support job creation.

In relation to my own Department, the key competitiveness issues which I am seeking to address at present relate to access to finance for businesses, reducing administrative burdens and costs on enterprises, and reforming the statutory wage setting mechanisms. With regard to access to finance, my Department is currently finalising proposals for a Microfinance Fund for small business start-ups, and a Temporary Partial Credit Guarantee scheme to encourage banks to lend to commercially viable SMEs engaged in new sectors, technologies and markets.

In relation to reducing the administrative burden on business, my Department has identified potential savings of approximately €198 million per annum for businesses in Ireland arising from measures taken to reduce the administrative burden in the areas of Company Law, Employment Law and Health and Safety Law. My Department is also leading a cross-Government programme to further measure and reduce the administrative burden across all areas of regulation affecting business. A project to measure these burdens across seven Departments and the Offices of the Revenue Commissioners is due to be completed by mid-2012.

I am continuing to work on the preparation of legislation to give effect to the proposals to reform the statutory wage setting mechanisms which I announced on 28 July this year. This will help to improve the competitiveness of businesses in certain sectors. Besides addressing issues that may impede competitiveness, my Department and its agencies are pursuing many other measures to improve the competitiveness of business by supporting enterprise research, development and innovation, improvements in company productivity and standards, and the expansion of exports.