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

I thank Mr. McElwee for that response. I have another question specifically for Mr. McElwee concerning the difficulties SMEs and microenterprises experience when competing with the massive global multinational corporations such as Amazon. Recently the chief executive of the IDA Ireland said:

It is great to see Ireland continuing to attract investment and playing such an important part in the future plans of this global company. Amazon’s ongoing commitment to Ireland is most welcome.

Many people in SMEs, microenterprises and family-run businesses were shocked by those comments and they contacted me. Amazon’s business model does nothing other than it has served, in some instances, to undermine the local small to medium-sized business enterprises and that is before we even consider its record on workers’ rights. Has Mr. McElwee heard much from the companies and businesses he is working with about the potential threat from organisations such as Amazon and how they can stack up their resilience against those big massive players in the field? They are far bigger than any of the enterprises Mr. McElwee's organisation is supporting. We want to grow our own enterprises, as it were. Has Mr. McElwee heard that from the companies he works with because I certainly have?