Liz O'Donnell
Ceist:20 Ms O'Donnell asked the Minister for Enterprise and Employment if he will report on the implementation of the recommendations contained in the small business task force report. [9954/96]
Written Answers. - Small Business Task Force Report.
The report of the Small Business Task Force, which was published in March 1994, made 121 recommendations for changes and new initiatives in relation to small business. To-date, 25 recommendations have been fully implemented and a further 16 have been partially implemented.
The task of implementing the recommendations has been assigned to the small business and services division of my Department, which has the stated objective of improving the operating environment for small business and service firms. The systematic implementation of the remaining recommendations is being pursued by the division which has assessed all of the recommendations and is actively pursuing their implementation. Special attention is being given in 1996 to the areas of prompt payment of business debts and administrative simplification which were identified by the task force as being of considerable importance to small business. In regard to prompt payment, I am pressing ahead with the introduction of prompt payment legislation for the public sector which I plan to publish later this year. In relation to administrative simplification, a programme is currently being developed by my Department to relieve the compliance burden on small business, which will be of particular relevance to a large number of recommendations.
This Government's commitment to small business is set down in our policy document,A Government of Renewal. Much has been achieved, but much more needs to be done to provide the right kind of assistance and help to small business here. It is for this reason that I plan to publish policy statements, in relation to both enterprise strategy and services, which will have significant implications for improving the business environment and which are nearing completion in my Department.