Mr. Fergal O'Brien:

IBEC is working across our membership with SMEs and large energy providers on a business roadmap for carbon reduction. We see many business opportunities here. I accept it will be a cost and a challenge for the economy, but significant business opportunities will emerge from it. There are particular opportunities for Government to support indigenous SMEs which will see opportunities to support Ireland on a carbon-reduction roadmap.

On Senator O'Donnell's question about Brexit and what more can be done, it is inevitable that we are moving towards a less competitive and more expensive trading relationship between Ireland and the United Kingdom. Depending on the nature of that relationship, significant resources will have to be deployed to the indigenous sector in particular. We will probably need State aid approval from the European Commission to do that effectively. Companies will need time to transition depending on the nature of the new arrangement. I am referring not to the exit agreement but to the new arrangement. Companies will need time to transition and we will need significant resources.