Mr. Neil McDonnell:

I understand IDA Ireland already has an element of that in its inward investment activities. We should not forget that a large multinational company will have treasury, legal and HR functions. It has the bandwidth to say there is an advantage to putting this bit of its operation in the Republic and that bit in the North. Doing so will cover the UK, the Republic of Ireland and the EU. However, 99.3% of businesses in this jurisdiction are small and medium enterprises, and the vast majority of them, at more than 70%, are micro-businesses with fewer than ten employees. The Deputy has raised a brilliant academic consideration but when it comes to a small food or clothing manufacturing business, this issue is not on its radar and is not going to be on its radar.