Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Trethowan for attending; he is very welcome. It is clear his office is making a positive difference to those who access it, a point on which I imagine all committee members would agree. From the endorsements in his most recent report I note people mentioned the courtesy, help and guidance they received, and how the service far exceeded their expectations. In one endorsement Mr. Trethowan's organisation is described as "a breath of fresh air", in terms of credit lending and review, which is all very positive.

However, as a Deputy representing the Wicklow constituency, I asked a parliamentary question of the Minister for Finance last October who told me in reply that only four applications from my county had reached Mr. Trethowan's office. That leaves me and my colleagues wondering what is the issue. As of last October many counties have sent only one application, including counties Sligo and Roscommon. The northern counties each have one, Leitrim and Kilkenny two, Offaly three, and Wicklow four. The overall figures are disappointing but taking the county by county level and the difference within each local economy the situation is even more disappointing.

I heard some of Mr. Trethowan's comments but wish to get an overall sense of what he believes are the two or three biggest obstacles that prevent more people accessing his office. How effective does he find its advertising campaign? Those of us in politics know that when we engage in certain types of advertising in our constituency we see a spike in the number of queries we receive. Can Mr. Trethowan make a correlation between specific advertising campaigns and consequent uptake?