Creative budget required to help SME sector

Date: 29/10/2010
Posted by: Darragh

POLITICAL CONSENSUS WILL REDUCE BORROWING COSTS

I am calling on the Ministers to include pro-business initiatives in the upcoming budget to increases confidence in the business community and help jobs growth in the economy.

Speaking in the Dáil debate on the Macro-Economic and Fiscal Outlook I said that: "We must be creative with regard to the SME sector in the budget by supporting indigenous businesses. This can be done in several ways, including through expenditure under the capital programme. In my constituency of Dublin North, I can see the benefits of the work being done to build new schools and work done by local contractors under the summer works scheme. The State is getting more for less, which must be at the centre of its efforts over the next four years."

As vice-chairman of the Dáil Public Accounts Committee, I feel that a political consensus on the four year budgetary framework being prepared by the Government is important as it would result in a reduction in the cost of borrowing for the State.

While I do not expect to achieve consensus on every aspect of the forthcoming budget, a general consensus on the four-year budgetary plan to be published in mid-November would send out the correct message. In contrast, Portugal today (Wednesday) sent out a message that it could not achieve consensus, a failure that affected the bond markets and the cost of borrowing.

I am also focussed on the positive indicators in the economy that must be welcomed and supported. Costs have reduced and foreign direct investment in 2009 amounted to almost €20 billion or half of the total figure for the United Kingdom. Many more new investments are in the pipeline and I commend the IDA and Enterprise Ireland on the work they have done in this regard. The county enterprise boards have also provided support for the small and medium enterprise sector which employs more than 800,000 people.