Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Apple obviously came through the state investment initially and we probably wish we had kept that equity stake in it as it continued. That is quite interesting. As Dr. McDonnell said, some of it applies in the medium to long term and what we need for medium-income households, as we need for lower-income households, is what can be done immediately. We need a way to tackle childcare and housing issues. As one of my friends said, with €50 a day for childcare in Galway and rents being so high, it is just not possible for people and this pushes them out of the workforce, which disproportionately affects women.

I want to get a different take on this because I want to focus slightly more on business in this session. I have been talking to local businesses in my area and we are obviously all seeing the impact of the rising cost of energy. One of the things people in my local area said is that they would like to have seen flexibility with rates again. They would also like to be better able to access renewable energy such as solar panels themselves. We are talking about a much smaller scale so it is more difficult to try to tackle that. I am hearing that certain businesses are closing their food sections. They are literally switching on the lights in the refrigerated areas for drinks but are not switching on the refrigeration. In Britain they are talking about a guaranteed loan scheme. Many companies have warehoused tax debt and there are concerns in some quarters about the ability to pay that back. That is also something that businesses have raised with me. What are the witnesses' views on debt to equity, not for local corner shops but to look at it in that way? I am interested in hearing their views on that.