Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I agree with the need for a fund to invest in SMEs and start-ups and so on. Our two Ministers have that new fund at their disposal that can invest in those companies at key times. That also needs to be addressed at a European level. There is an element of risk with some of that finance, which is fine. We need to do it and back our companies, but this kind of fund is more about investing in sites or commercial buildings that would give a return to this fund, as well as possibly provide the space for Irish prisons to be located. They are two different types of investments. There is the other fund and I would encourage the Ministers to put more money into it to invest in the share capital of companies to give them a chance to grow and expand. However, I presume this money would be put into capital projects that are guaranteed a return so that we can spend the return as day-to-day income, if needs be in years to come. It is slightly different. I want to see both happen, but my interpretation is that they are different funds. While I welcome both, they are slightly separate.