Mr. James Claffey:

We have not really looked at a model to deal with this issue, but we know that there is a disproportionate disadvantage in rural areas in this regard. Between 2006 and 2011, 81% of small to medium-sized enterprise closures occurred in rural areas. These areas need significant investment. There were businesses which at some stage were successful, but in times of economic crisis, they did not get the support they needed. We want the industrial agencies to look at these businesses to see what could have saved them such as short-term loans to tide them over.