Mr. Ian Brannigan:

My colleagues have covered several of the points raised. Sometimes small is beautiful because, as well as being indigenous and immutable, it is rooted to whatever it is, which is always good. The sector has a really powerful dynamic. People will participate in it for a lot less than they would in others. Speaking plainly, in gross value added, GVA, terms, what they will accept to be involved in this sector is way below what one would normally expect because they want to be involved in it for quality of life reasons, which is fantastic. That means that one can have a vibrant society in a peripheral area because people want to live there and will be happy to accept a salary of €25,000 or €30,000 as opposed to €60,000. That is why some of the projections of 17,000 and 19,000 jobs within ten years seem to be aggressive until one looks at the GVA figures.

They are quite low. It is €24,000 or €25,000. Many of the jobs are seasonal, part-time and lifestyle related. That is the nature of it. It is not any less valuable - small is beautiful - but it sustains a rural and peripheral community at a fraction of the cost of bringing in a large multinational. While a multinational might be a nice solution - and I am not against it having worked for one for 15 years - this is a perfect balance because it achieves the same thing with people who will never leave because they are rooted.