Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is also worth noting that the state of our dysfunctional housing sector means that many people are living in overcrowded or inappropriate accommodation. I have spoken to workers who, out of necessity, have conducted their business balanced on the edge of the bed in the box room in their parents' house because they have nowhere else to go. All these things need to come together. I am aware of the bulletin. I just wanted to pivot back to the workers in this regard because there has been a heavy emphasis on managers. Of course, managers are workers too, but we should probably be cognisant of the impact of this on workers generally.

The NCPC's paper touches on investment in research, development and innovation and the fact that, since 2011, as a percentage of the modified GNI*, the Government's investment in research, development and innovation has been decreasing. Given that we hear from academics, specifically those from the Kemmy Business School, that for every euro invested in research and development, more than €5 is returned to the economy, can the witnesses elaborate for the committee on the importance of RDI for economic expansion and how it can make our economy more robust? Does the NCPC see scope for an increase in investment, which, by my reckoning, has been decreasing as a percentage of GNI*?