Mr. Tom Hayes:

On a pre-seed programme, I am not sure whether the Deputy is familiar with the new frontiers programme but I believe it ticks the box for the Deputy. Under the programme, a bursary of €15,000 is provided for a six-month incubation, during which someone can tease through his or her business proposition or idea. All the institutes of technology are involved in the programme which is run by Enterprise Ireland.

The course is pretty standard although some are individually tailored depending on the college. That might be what the Deputy is referring to. There are 150 graduates every year and between 80% and 90% of them start a business and we invest in approximately 20% or 25% of those, under the high potential start-up, HPSU, scheme, which is a fantastic return in terms of contribution to jobs. That may be what the Deputy is referring to in the context of pre-seed because no equity is taken, there are no preference shares or pay back. It is a bursary, which enables the individual to spend six months teasing through his or her business idea. They are well mentored and supported during that six month process.