The Taoiseach often states that he wants Ireland to be the best small country in the world in which to do business and we all agree with him in that regard. The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Richard Bruton, will be aware of the importance of job creation and the key role the small and medium enterprise sector plays in creating jobs in every county. Against that background, I was shocked to learn of the experience of an indigenous company that is seeking to create 55 permanent jobs in Carlow as well as 70 construction jobs in the development phase of a new distillery. I refer to Walsh Whiskey Distillery of Royal Oak, Bagenalstown, County Carlow, which is building the first distillery in the south east for 200 years.

The chief executive of Walsh Whiskey has been working with Carlow County Council since 2012 to facilitate the development of the distillery. In 2013, the company received a licence from the council to build the facility. While the company was aware that it would be required, as a business, to pay for water treatment, it was gobsmacked when Irish Water presented it with a bill for €500,000 in addition to the cost of installing a water treatment system. This unexpected charge is a direct result of the Government's decision to establish Irish Water. Heretofore, councils always had discretion to assist companies which were prepared to make substantial investments in local communities that badly need jobs. For example, local councillors, industrialists, engineers and departmental staff would have cut a deal to resolve outstanding difficulties and allow a development to proceed.

The development levies could be charged to future beneficiaries of the infrastructural improvements that would accrue to the area. Ultimately, as I stated, it would be addressing the deficiency that is obvious, not only in that constituency but throughout this country. There is a two-tier recovery, that the Minister and the Government is pursuing at pace. The Minister can be sure under the previous regime and the previous mechanism that were in place a €500,000 bill would not be presented as a fait accompli to the company which would make it change its mind and change location.

Is Deputy Bruton, as Minister for enterprise, aware of the difficulties that Walsh distillery has in this regard? Is it fair and acceptable that this company, when wishing to invest substantially in an area that needs it so badly, is challenged with a €500,000 bill such as this? Is the Minister aware of it, what has he done about it or will he do anything about it?

Uisce Éireann, uisce faoi thalamh.

I completely reject the idea that there is a two-tier recovery.

Was the Minister down in Kilkenny-----

Hold on, stay quiet.

What is encouraging about this recovery is that we have 90,000 extra at work and every region of the country has enjoyed growth in employment.

-----or Clonmel?

We cannot hear. Will Deputy Mattie McGrath stay quite or leave the Chamber?

Virtually every sector is enjoying growth in employment. Contrary to what a lot of the House may think, Enterprise Ireland supported companies, that is, Irish export-oriented companies, created more jobs in the past 12 months than did overseas companies. Nearly 19,000 extra jobs were created in Irish enterprises last year.

Indeed, the company to which Deputy Barry Cowen refers is one that Enterprise Ireland is actively supporting. It is encouraging to see a wide number of distilleries now being established. There is scope for the development of this sector, which has been one of the sectors targeted by the Department and by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine as an opportunity for growth.

I reject any idea that we are not supporting SMEs. The reality is that 70% of the resources within my Department go to the support of Irish-owned companies and 75% of those are located outside of Dublin. We focus our resources on these.

This issue has not been brought to my attention by the company but, on foot of what the Deputy is raising, I will certainly investigate whether there is a way of resolving it. I understand from Deputy Deering that there have been discussions between Irish Water and the local authority in an effort to bring a resolution but we will certainly examine whether a resolution can be found to this issue, and I thank the Deputy for bringing it to my attention.

I thank the Minister for his response. Make no mistake about it, a resolution most definitely has to be found. I believe, despite the Minister's rhetoric, he and the Government just do not get it. He talks about job creation and action plans for jobs when everybody on the doors we are knocking on in that constituency and many others do not see any recovery.

Deputy Cowen is telling them that.

The Department of Finance made a submission to the Low Pay Commission some weeks ago. Does the Minister know what it did? He can check it out, look it up and read it, if he wishes. It acknowledged that there is a two-tier recovery taking place in the country. That is the Department for which the golden boy, the Minister for Finance, supposedly the real brain behind the Government, has responsibility. That is what the Department of Finance has said to the Low Pay Commission.

The Government has cut rural Ireland adrift. It never contemplated the effect that this monster, that is, Irish Water, would have.

A question, please.

The Government never accepted that there was a need for adequate and proper scrutiny of the legislation that accompanied its set up. As I stated, there is no local political accountability. Councillors, who have the best interests of the localities in which they reside and where they have the privilege to represent those people, like the people themselves, have been cut adrift by this Government. The Government needs to revisit that legislation, if nothing else to address this issue because I have seen it in Kilkenny too, where a group sewage scheme was initially costing €560,000 when it could be combined with a road works programme to deliver sewage schemes to 60 people living in that location and it is now at a cost of €1.2 million. They cannot afford it and it will not happen.

An bord uisce.

The Government just does not get it and it is not capable of getting it because they do not know how to cut a deal. They do not know how to deal with the issues that are there.

Will Deputy Cowen put his question? He is getting too excited.

I am asking the Minister now-----

If Deputy Mattie McGrath does not mind, I will do it myself.

Will the Government revisit the legislation and address the grave difficulties that rural Ireland is facing because of the discrepancies that exist in the legislation?

I thank Deputy Cowen.

People need hope.

I call the Minister.

They need to see an effort being made to address the mistakes made heretofore.

I will take no lectures from Deputy Cowen on the managing of our regional recovery. When he was in government-----

I was not.

-----he built regional growth.

I was elected to this Dáil, no other one. That is my responsibility, the same as everyone else here. The Minister should grow up and realise what he is doing here is wrong.

Deputy Cowen was near enough.

When Deputy Cowen's party was in government, it erected-----

There is plenty of time.

Would Deputy Mattie McGrath please stay quiet?

They sought to develop regions on the basis of a construction sector. In Deputy Cowen's own county, he has seen a 60% collapse-----

So the Government can cut them adrift now.

Will Deputy Cowen stay quiet?

-----in the construction sector. I have now established a regional enterprise strategy and I invited Deputy Cowen to come and attend with other stakeholders to see how we could develop the regions, and he did not turn up.

Because I was here. The Minister held it on a day when we were sitting.

Let us be honest with ourselves. During the time that Fianna Fáil was in government-----

On a Wednesday when the Minister have a majority of 60 or 70 here in the Chamber.

-----employment in companies supported by our agencies fell by 500 during the period his party was in office and since we have come in, it has grown by 500. We have reversed the trend that his party presided over and we are determined to go further.

We are now sitting down with the stakeholders in the regions to see how we can best develop the potential strength of those regions. One of those is in the distillery and in the food sector. We are determined to see the growth of that food sector. Indeed, Deputy Cowen himself knows-----

I do.

-----that, with the removal of obstacles, the dairy sector will be one of the star performers.

In Tullamore, we removed obstacles. The local authorities did.

We will build employment. We will have hit our 100,000 jobs target 21 months ahead of the target which we set. By contrast, Fianna Fáil presided in government over a period when 300,000 jobs were lost.

Will the Ceann Comhairle remind the Minister I was elected to this Dáil and no other, and I have a responsibility to those who elected me to ask questions about this Dáil?

Deputy Cowen should sit down.

That is the reality. We have reversed those trends and we are determined to deliver.

The Government will get its answer on Friday.

Would Deputy Healy-Rae ever stay quiet?

I did not select it.

The Deputy should go back out canvassing if he cannot stay quiet in here.