Mr. Fergus Sharpe:

On the prudence point, I do not think we are suggesting that the aim of budget 2020 should be to hold down purchasing power. In terms of the unallocated budgetary package available, there is room to adopt targeted measures in a couple of different areas. We proposed several for consideration in the area of enterprise. In terms of the cost of living, which is the broader issue for the committee, the main aspect does not relate to wage costs. The labour market is quite buoyant, but there is a focus on it because of the high cost of living due to issues such as housing and public transport.

On the specifics relating to public transport, there are other cities in which free public transport services can and have worked. I am not sure whether Dublin can adopt that on a large scale just yet. The main problem for Dublin is that the necessary infrastructure is not in place rather than it being a case that there is a price issue for the average commuter. That is why we have detailed a lot of projects that we think need to be prioritised. I refer to what is now called the DART expansion programme, which relates to a number of improvements to the system over several years. The underground element, the DART interconnector, has been talked about in one form or another since 1971. There has been virtually no progress half a century later and it has been subject to multiple plans, revisions and postponements. It is now being looked at again for some sort of lower-cost technical solution. In the absence of any progress on that, we would like to see progress on other elements of the expansion programme. We want to ensure that we do not do the same thing with MetroLink and that, at the least, the northern element of that project will be delivered.

In terms of the research and development tax credit, our short answer would be that it is not an either-or. There certainly is an SME need for it.

I will defer to Mr. Quigley for the specifics on research and development tax credits.