Three State agencies including Forbairt and the Irish Trade Board are running more than 45 schemes aimed at the business sector, the Tanaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Ms Harney has said. She said it was totally excessive and she had never heard of some of the programmes.
Ms Harney, who was speaking to reporters after an ISME conference in Killarney last night, said she was reviewing the operations of the three State agencies - Forbairt, the Irish Trade Board (ITB) and FAS. She hoped to make a decision on whether to merge the operations of Forbairt and the ITB within the next six weeks. She said she would bring proposals to Cabinet on the matter by the end of January at the latest.
Ms Harney, who broke her arm in a fall in Dublin on Wednesday, said she had made no final decision yet, except to "create a more effective delivery of services". She said she was very concerned at the current proliferation of State services.
The Minister confirmed she was also reviewing the operations of FAS. She said it had a very difficult and large job to do - from providing training courses for industry to running social employment schemes. "If a problem arises, FAS is expected to solve it," she said.
She said that it may be time to change the remit of all the agencies. "I don't want agencies which are all over the place," she said.
Earlier, Ms Harney told delegates that the goal of enterprise policy was simple: to help companies develop a competitive advantage and grow their sales, exports, profits and employment.
"It is inconceivable that fulfilment of this simple goal should involve such a bewildering array of schemes and programmes."
Ms Harney said she was concerned at the confusion among clients that the current situation created and that some firms which really need help may be missing out on State support, because they may not "find their way through the maze of schemes and agencies".
"The current array of schemes and incentives will have to be streamlined," she said.
She added that the Government must ensure that the enterprise support system is simple, transparent and focused on the developmental needs of firms. "We can do this by ensuring that the supports provided by the development agencies are linked to real-world company activities."
The ITB chief executive, Mr Oliver Tattan and the chief executive of Forbairt, Mr Dan Flinter, both declined to comment on the matter.
Meanwhile, speaking about next Wednesday's Budget, Ms Harney said getting people off the Live Register and into jobs would be one of its key features. Asked if she was happy that Progressive Democrats' tax policies would be implemented, she replied that it was a partnership government and, as with all partnerships, there had to be a bit of give and take.
She hinted broadly that corporation tax would be further reduced and said a low-tax, high-volume environment suited an economy such as Ireland's.
She said risk takers should be rewarded. People who put money into special savings accounts often only had to pay 15 per cent tax, while people who put money into business, a far riskier venture, had to pay nearly 40 per cent tax. That would have to change, she said.
She told delegates: "It is my intention to make it a happy christmas for corporate and personal tax payers."
