Mr. Tim Fenn:

Our view is that the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland, SBCI, structure governing start-up grants is completely unfit for purpose. They are limited to €10,000 for SMEs. There are two key points here. For a hotel, that sum is the equivalent of seven and a half bedrooms. The average hotel in Ireland has about 70 bedrooms. As such, hotels are simply excluded. Furthermore, the way it is put together is dysfunctional from the point of view of small business. It discriminates against small businesses that are labour-intensive. If a business has more than 50 employees, it simply cannot claim the grant, regardless of turnover. Our industry is labour-intensive, so the measure works to exclude it.