DEBT LAWS PREVENT INVESTMENT

Ireland’s archaic bankruptcy laws are acting as a disincentive to investment – so says Craig Barrett, the recently retired chairman of technology giant Intel. Speaking to the Sunday Times prior to the Engineers Ireland annual conference this week, he said that one of the key factors in reviving the Irish economy would be the growth of indigenous business.
“Jobs are created by small companies, not big corporations. New small businesses are needed to lead the economy out of recession,” Barrett said.” The problem is that Ireland has some interesting bankruptcy laws – where people can still be in debt after 12 years. That situation does not encourage people to take risks. It acts as a disincentive to small business start ups.”
He said the lack of available capital from Irish banks should not prevent people from starting businesses. “Money flows freely to good ideas from all over the world. Good ideas trump lack of capital every time.”
While acknowledging the difficulties in the banking system, he said he thought the Government was “leading the way” internationally in handling the economic crisis. He said he thought the cut to the public service pay bill was a big step in the right direction