Ms Elaine O'Connor:

I will speak from personal experience to try to give the committee the best perspective I can. I have a 15-year-old company that has won multiple awards. We specialise in the production of large-scale public events. I have 20 years' experience working in the industry but as it stands, simply put, there is no incentive to stay in business. My staff are at home and I cannot offer them any direction as to when, where or how I can offer them work. I had interns coming out of third level institutions lined up to get experience within industry but that will not happen. When I look to my clients, which include private, corporate and local authorities, no one has any direction. As it stands, when I assess the situation, I find it very hard to see any possibility of me remaining in business without supports.