The Taoiseach made an intensive, whirlwind visit to Silicon Valley and San Francisco recently. He visited an array of media and technology companies, including Facebook, Cisco and eBay. We acknowledge the work of the Government in attracting investment, employment and growth, but there is another side to the coin. One aspect concerns Irish workers, while the other concerns Ireland's reputation. Multinationals come here and avail of tax breaks and concessions and then head for the hills. They either close down their businesses completely or reduce their numbers of employees. We have a list of the companies that during the years have done exactly what I describe. Others are planning to take a similar approach. We have noticed the increasing demands being placed on Irish workers which is epitomised by what is happening to workers in Waterford.

It is not so much a case of take it or leave it; it is a case of take it or we leave. We know the kind of aggressive lobbying that is going on to get that firm to move to New York. We see the erosion of hard-won workers' rights because of these companies in terms of salary and wages, health and safety, and other conditions. The editorial in the Irish Examiner put it very succinctly, stating: "Globalisation ruining workers' job security". We have to ensure we get worthwhile employment that is not subject to the whims of foreign multinational companies and foreign investment.

One of the strategies and answers is to give greater support to small and medium businesses. The statistics show they are the ones who are more reluctant to let their employees go in difficult times. That means tackling the issues they have identified as being difficulties, for example, access to adequate finance, sustainable cash flow, upward-only rents, microfinance, seed capital schemes and the public procurement issue.

Will the Government commit to the same assertive or aggressive measures it uses to attract foreign direct investment and multinationals on behalf of the small and medium enterprises here? It is the small and medium enterprises - our indigenous industries - that have our workers' interests at heart. Will the Government commit to a series of events comparable to the St. Patrick's Day events which go towards attracting foreign investment in order to support our small and medium enterprises?

Hear, hear. That is a sensible suggestion.

Deputy O'Sullivan's question is very valid and I thank her for her comments. The Industrial Development Authority, for very many years, has been a global model for structuring a situation where foreign direct investment into this country has continued to be very strong. The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Bruton, and the Tánaiste, Deputy Gilmore, as trade policy Minister, have had a direct impact on this.

I do not accept the multinationals come here and head for the hills shortly afterwards. This morning, for example, Hollister announced an €80 million investment in Ballina, and it has been there for 40 years; Allergan, which has been here the same length of time, has invested €300 million in Westport, and there are many others. It is true to say that the nature of the products manufactured in many of these plants has changed over the years and there have been changes in technology, in robotics and in the way things are done. Multinationals employ over 100,000 people here, with a massive investment in IT, pharmaceutical, software and many other areas.

I want Deputy O'Sullivan to understand that a priority of Government is really to focus on job creation through the SME sector. That is why Silicon Valley Bank, the Chinese Investment Corporation and KfW, the state investment bank from Germany, are putting together €4 billion in a couple of years for investment in regard to access to credit for small and medium enterprises, including the schemes the Deputy has mentioned. Some 20 SMEs from Ireland were in San Francisco at the weekend, pitching for venture capital investment, and these SMEs had gone through a boot camp here, where their presentations were taken asunder and reconstructed so they would be made in the strongest possible fashion. The Minister of State, Deputy Sherlock, is in Switzerland today with up to 60 companies from Ireland, small and medium enterprises pitching for business and new markets.

I agree with the Deputy in regard to job creation and growing the economy for the future. The emphasis of the Minister through the Action Plan for Jobs, through the Pathways to Work scheme and through access to credit from new sources is to do exactly what the Deputy says, namely, make opportunities for small and medium enterprises to build on their potential. Enterprise Ireland, as an equivalent model of the IDA, has been exceptional in terms of the assistance, time, effort and creativity with which it works with companies so jobs can be created here in Ireland. Its fund, through high potential start-ups and so on, is very focused. While we cannot cover the entire range of opportunities, the ones where we see real potential get real priority and focus from Government.

The Deputy's question is valid. Some 60,000 jobs were created last year and 40% of those were created by companies that are less than five years old, so those frontiers up ahead are changing. Deputy O'Sullivan can take it from me that the focus and emphasis of Government is genuinely on small and medium enterprises and giving them that opportunity to grow their potential and create jobs here at home. It is then all about economic confidence.

I would ask about the public procurement aspect. We know the printing industry in this country has been decimated in recent years, with an estimated loss of some 5,000 jobs.

I want to move to another aspect, namely, Ireland's reputation, which brings in the tax issue. I believe multinationals' idea of social responsibility equals more profit for their shareholders. How do they get more profit for their shareholders? They pay their workers less and they pay less tax. We know that multinationals are very adept at very aggressive forms of tax avoidance, channelling revenue through subsidiaries, including, unfortunately, through countries like Ireland and the Netherlands, with the various techniques they use, including the "Double Irish" and "Dutch Sandwich".

Ireland has been a voice internationally against illicit flight capital from the countries of the developing world but we have to lead by example. We have to co-operate with what the OECD and the European Commission are doing. The OECD is calling on all G20 states to implement the 15-point guideline in its action plan in regard to base erosion and profit shifting. I want to know whether the Government will confirm which key aspects of that plan it will be implementing and whether it will ensure multinationals comply so Ireland does not facilitate tax avoidance by multinational companies.

The wages on average in IDA companies in Ireland are much higher than elsewhere in the economy. Survivorship among multinational companies is as strong as it is in Irish companies although, obviously, markets change and there are pressures all of the time. Ireland's spend on Irish companies is actually much higher than it is in respect of multinationals. It is not one or the other, it is not either-or - we need both. Obviously, multinationals being here creates opportunities for niche contractors to supply services and goods to them, which is very important.

In respect of base erosion and profit shifting, we have been very much up-front about this. In the budget last October the Minister abolished the stateless concept. Clearly, there is an international issue here in respect of the digital world having moved very much ahead of the legislative world. That is why Ireland, among other countries of the European Council and the EU, has been very much up-front in working with the European Commission and the OECD to deal with this in an international way, so there is an international response to the issue. The different sectors are represented and the many committees are attended and contributed to by Ireland. We hope the OECD will bring forward its report during the summer and, as I have said, Ireland is very much up-front in wanting this matter to be dealt with in an international sense.

This is not about the rate of corporation tax. It is about the issue of tax in general.

It is about the effective tax rate.

They are not paying 12.5%. Some are paying just 2.5%.

Send them home, so.

We are participating fully and comprehensively in that. Our legislation is statute-based and we believe it is ethically implemented and will stand up to any scrutiny. We want to participate with all other countries so the issues are dealt with as an international response to something that has happened over the last number of years. I thank the Deputy for her comments.