Dr. Mark Cassidy:

This is a difficult issue. I am not sure what that assessment of viability will be. It will not be the Central Bank that will make a viability assessment. I am not sure what it will entail. In a way it is too early. I am aware that this is not a very satisfactory answer because, ideally, we would be able to design and consider future policies now, but we do not know how we will come out of the crisis. For example, we do not know how spending patterns will change, which would mean that some of the temporary effects from the crisis may be sustained over time. Some businesses that may have been viable going into the crisis may not be viable over the longer term. Getting the balance right between, on the one hand, ensuring viable business, which is certainly for the economic benefit of the State, versus, on the other, keeping alive businesses that will not be viable over the longer term by allocating resources to those businesses that could be allocated elsewhere. That is an extremely difficult balance to achieve.

In the first instance, there is a widespread recognition that many of the firms which have suffered significant losses and increases in debt during the crisis are viable and that the latter is just down to their businesses has been locked down temporarily, albeit for more than a year in many cases. They came into the crisis viable; they will potentially be viable in the future and Government supports can help them in that regard.

At the same time, we have seen some firm closures and, undoubtedly, there will be firms that will not be viable after this pandemic. Policy also needs to examine the most efficient, effective and least costly ways of restructuring those firms that will allow for the business to try to trade itself out of trouble during a restructuring process or to prevent it from entering liquidation prematurely premature liquidation. There are measures under consideration such as lighter, more flexible examinership procedures that could help in that regard. Policies will look, first, at continuing supports and how they might need to be adjusted and, second, in terms of potential restructuring procedures in the economy. There are a couple of difficulties in that regard. It is very difficult in practice in terms of that viability assessment.