Mr. Michael Kirrane:

We must recall the economic climate in 2012 when the scheme was launched. Unemployment was at its highest level and the focus at the time was to gain inward investment for the purpose of employment. The focus on the enterprise scheme at that stage was very much on employment generation. As the economy improved over time and other pressures came upon the State, particularly with regard to social housing, healthcare, primary healthcare centres and nursing homes, the committee recommended to the Minister that we move the focus of the investor programme away from employment generation and towards addressing these needs because they were seen as more pressing and important in terms of the State's requirements at the time. The focus switched from enterprise. In the early stages quite a lot of investment was also made in hotel regeneration because at the time, the tourism industry was under serious pressure. The investments are scattered throughout the country. They are not concentrated in any particular area of the country. There is also a sense of looking at investments in areas where there may not be other opportunities for investment.