Mr. Martin Shanahan:

My experience is that companies are very happy to meet members of the Government. The expectation in all cases is that these meetings are in the public domain because they are in Ministers' published diaries and so on and that information relating to the meeting can be sought.

The IDA sets up engagements with Ministers, often at the request of companies, in order for them to engage on issues that are of interest to those companies. Typically, it is the company that is asking for the meeting on a specific issue. The IDA also sets up meetings for companies, typically more than one at a time, with Ministers so that they can share information with those Ministers about what they see happening from an investment perspective and on topical issues. We always explain to companies in advance the nature of those engagements. Typically-----