Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Deputy Conaghan's remarks. As a Minister of State with responsibility for SMEs, I have had the opportunity over the past few months to travel around the country and talk to SME owners and managers about their experiences. We are now in an entirely different space even compared to two years ago. There is now much more confidence out there. The local enterprise office approach is working. I visited quite a number of them over the past few weeks. That is not to say there are not still challenges. We need to keep a very close eye on their resources and make sure they are supported in developing over the next period and meeting the challenges that exist. One of the most significant things Ministers and Ministers of State can do over the next period is to marshal through regional economic strategies. It is no longer any use to try to create the impression that every region of the country is competing for the same type of foreign direct investment. We need a balanced regional approach.

The regional economic strategies will essentially be an action plan for jobs at a local and regional level. That is a process initiated by my colleague, the Minister, Deputy Bruton, and Department officials. It is a strategy that has been proven to work. We will see a process whereby local agencies such as the IDA or Enterprise Ireland will take responsibility for driving these strategies and showing leadership at a local level - working with local authorities, third level institutes, local enterprise offices and so on - to make sure we get the balanced regional economic activity that we need. There is very little point in having an economic recovery that is focused on our main cities. We will spread that right across the country and will have a very involved process in terms of developing regional strategies.

It is also important that we have harmonious industrial relations and progressive legislation - it is recognised that our legislation is the best in developed economies - which is developed in partnership with employers and trade unions in the way that we seek to address issues around the REA and collective bargaining legislation. It is important that we do that in collaboration and partnership with employers, trade unions and those who represent working people.

With regard to balanced economic development, I do not mean just regional development. I also mean making work pay and making sure that people are always better off in work rather than ensnared in a social welfare system from which they cannot get out. The best thing we can do is to provide somebody with the dignity of a job, and that is what we are all committed to doing. We have seen our economy recover considerably over the recent past. There is still a lot to do, and we are all very focused on that in terms of regional strategies and all the work we are doing in the Department. We can be positive and optimistic about the future.