Yesterday, Enterprise Ireland published its annual report and accounts for 2012. While we have been preoccupied with austerity and troika targets, in the real economy the annual report of Enterprise Ireland tells us Irish companies and Irish entrepreneurs have achieved record export sales in 2012, breaking the €16.2 billion point for the first time. Enterprise Ireland client companies exported more in 2012 than at any time in the history of the State. Hundreds of Irish entrepreneurs, from web companies established by young people to major companies like Kerrygold, Glanbia and Dairygold, achieved a rise of €1 billion in sales last year, bringing the total in the year to €16.2 billion. Ireland is a small, open economy with a population of just over 4.5 million. Companies must grow their export sales in order to grow the company and to increase employment. The Enterprise Ireland annual report shows that client companies generated a net increase in full-time employment of 3,300, primarily driven by the record export performance. The major multinational companies are located in major urban population centres. Irish companies are regionally based, and the salaries and wages they provide are spent in shops and cafes in every community in the country, keeping the local economy alive. The annual report also deserves to be number one on the bestseller list and recommended for summer reading to read about the Irish heroes, small and big, who are turning around our economy and laying the basis for prosperity for the future.

Enterpreneurship is recognised both nationally and internationally as a key driver of economic growth, playing a critical role in creating employment and fostering innovation. International studies show that women entrepreneurs are seriously lagging behind their male counterparts and Ireland reflects this international trend with women early-stage entrepreneurs in Ireland outnumbered two to one by men. It is a very sad story. Increasing the number of women entrepreneurs in Ireland will add jobs for both men and women and will make a significant contribution to our economic recovery.

All Members will have received this morning a copy of the policy paper - Promoting Women Entrepreneurs in Ireland: Fresh Thinking on Employment Solutions for Promoting Women Entrepreneurs in Ireland.

Yes.

We have.

It is a Fianna Fáil policy paper authored by me and it will be launched this afternoon.

We cannot have political launches in the Chamber.

Why not?

It is a very important document.

This is very important; it is about Irish women. Unless we include in our competitiveness Irish women's talents and potential we are not internationally competing-----

Hear, hear.

-----we are not generating the potential and encouraging Irish women, and developing the potential of Ireland. In my report Members will read that there are many barriers to women entrepreneurs.

That is certainly a Dáil speech for Dublin South, Fine Gael should step aside.

We will have to have a proper debate on the budget and on the employment issue in the autumn.

The Senator is way over time.

Before I call Senator Bacik, I am sure the Members of the House would like to join me in welcoming Mr. Jo-Anick Proulx, the manager of Grosse Île and the Irish Memorial National Historic Site Parks in Canada. He is very welcome to Seanad Éireann and the Irish Parliament, and we wish him well during his stay here. I call Senator Bacik.

I commend Senator Mary White on the publication of that paper which raises an important issue. It should be a matter of concern to Government that so few entrepreneurs are women, like so few politicians are women and again we have to look at positive action measures to increase the number of women. I welcome that paper.

In this session Senator White has also been responsible for producing an excellent Bill on paternity leave, which was accepted by the Government on Second Stage. This is the kind of work that the Seanad excels at, like Senator Quinn's Construction Contracts Bill that we finally passed yesterday.

Hear, hear.

Hear, hear.

That is the sort of initiative that we should be promoting in this Chamber more and more, and that is where the Seanad really shows it strength.

I agree with Senator White on the need for a pre-budget debate and I have already called on the Leader to facilitate that. In that debate we need to examine fairly the issue of stimulus packages and the need for stimulus. Earlier this week a stimulus package was announced which went under the radar. I refer colleagues to it and ask that we would consider more measures like these in our debate in the autumn. This is the initiative of Minister of State, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, in which she has allocated €10 million of funding this year alone and plans to allocate more funding over future years under the energy efficiency programme for local authority homes. This will have huge benefit in terms of stimulating the economy by creating jobs in retrofitting local authority homes. It will also have a knock-on effect of reducing energy bills for families and increasing our commitment to sustainable measures to combat climate change. On a number of levels this is an important package and it is the sort of measure that we should be looking at increasing in the coming budget. Even €10 million spent on a project like retrofitting existing local authority homes can have a hugely beneficial impact on local economies and the national economy.

I welcome the passage last night, by a decisive majority, of the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill. It was an historic day. I am very proud that this Government has finally after 21 years legislated to protect the lives of women. Many of the contributions in this House were excellent and we had in general very measured contributions by many Senators. Not to be harping on Senator White again, and apologies for focusing on her, but her contribution was strong in terms of acknowledging the failures of successive Governments, including Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Labour during those 21 years in failing to legislate until now.

I wish everyone well for the break ahead and look forward to a very dynamic few weeks of Seanad activity in September before the referendum on 4 October. It is up to all of us to make the case for Seanad retention and reform. The focus will be on this House in September like never before. We can all expect that. I look forward to a robust campaign in which we make the case very strongly, through our own conduct, initiatives and work we do in this House, for retention and reform of the Seanad.