Ollie Crowe (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for attending. It is very much appreciated. When restaurants close down in small towns and villages, naturally it is not just the loss of the business, which is bad enough, but it is also the loss of the venue for people to come together to celebrate. It is a loss of resource for the community. Once they close down, they rarely reopen. Last year, the rate of closures in the sector was especially bad. It was averaging at two restaurants per day. Has that trend continued over the first half of the year? How many have opened over the same period of time?

Ms Magnier's opening statement referenced survey findings that reflect how difficult it is for small firms to access finance, with almost half of those surveyed saying that there are barriers. Did the survey unearth more information on this or would the Small Firms Association generally have more information on it? Is it as simple as an unwillingness from the banks to lend to small businesses without a long track record? Does this tend to be an issue in every country or is it especially challenging for small firms in Ireland?

Ms Buckley's opening statement mentioned the impact that retail crime has had and the implications of this. It has come up a lot in recent times. I saw a statistic recently that such crime is costing Irish businesses approximately €1.6 billion per year. The programme for Government contained a commitment to develop a retail crime strategy. That should address retail defamation as Ms Buckley's opening statement pointed out. Can the witnesses expand on that?