Ms Julie Sinnamon:

When we compare Europe with the US, one of the issues is the fact that far larger cheques are written for startup companies in the US and in order to grow them. Therefore, they are not under the same pressure in terms of smaller fund-raising lines on an ongoing basis. One of the key reasons why we have increased the funding in development capital is to try to have a suite of different funding options to encourage more scaling of those companies in Ireland. It is not just an issue of acquisitions. Trying to put more of the focus on growing companies as opposed to it always being on increased numbers of startups is a big focus. While increased numbers of startups are important, growing companies of scale is a key part of the agenda because they create a lot of jobs and can create a lot of export opportunities globally. It is a major focus.