“Under new proposals passed by the European Parliament recently, it will soon be possible to set up a company for one Euro and through online registration. This is a very pro-business idea. It will allow people with good ideas to start a business within a couple of hours and at virtually no cost.

“In Ireland it takes two to five days to set up a company at a cost of €50. In other EU countries such as Slovakia it can take 10 days and in Italy costs €2,000. The new legislation will change that. Procedures will be made easier, costs will be substantially reduced and cross border trade will be encouraged.

“Fine Gael understands the importance of small businesses to our economy and so I welcome these new EU proposals. As a party we have been engaging with small and medium businesses in our constituencies throughout the country as part of the Fine Gael ‘Standing up for Small Business’ campaign, seeking ways to ease burdens on small businesses. In response Minister Noonan is examining ways to address the anomaly of tax equalisation between PAYE workers and the self employed, and Fine Gael will continue to reduce taxes on work.

“Central Bank research from 2014 showed that start-up companies in the first five years of existence account for two thirds of all new jobs created in Ireland This highlights how important this new European Parliament proposal could be for the creation of Irish jobs and growth opportunities,” concluded Mr Hayes.

Current cost and length of time of setting up a new business in each EU Member State.