Brian Brennan (Wicklow-Wexford, Fine Gael)

I knew there were concerns but I will leave today hugely concerned, especially about enterprise. There are two specific issues; funding is number one, and number two is what has been hammered home to us, that the current major scheme is not fit for purpose. If something was not fit for purpose in a business that we were all involved in, it would not be there, so why is the Government trying to lead something that is not fit for purpose? I know the witnesses have given presentations before, but they are at the coalface and I ask them to give us a document today. What does Mr. O'Connor recommend? As Mr. O'Meara said, there is a solution. We need a strong enterprise sector now more than ever. The geopolitical situation is changing by the hour, not by the day, and we need to have a strong sector. The impression I get is that the witnesses feel they are being let down by the Government. That is frightening. It is up to me to take that on board and to leave the meeting with a document stating what is needed so I can sit down with the relevant Ministers and discuss it with them. I will do that, and I know the committee will too.

Since I have come on board, out of all the presentations we have had, this has been very relevant, especially in the current climate. The vital part these industries are playing sometimes goes unnoticed. The message that comes across is that the witnesses feel they do not have a strong enough voice. Am I right in saying that? How can we resolve that? I walk the streets of Gorey and Arklow. We know all these people and they are telling me exactly what the witnesses have now told me – costs, costs, costs - and asking where it will all end. They say they might not be in business. How can there be succession? How can they hand on a business to somebody? What is the point if there is no margin in it? A lot of businesses in the south east are working on pride in keeping the doors open because the business has been passed down for 100 years. We have to analyse the situation that is happening in the world now and how many people are shopping online. We have to adjust. Some people are trying but others cannot adjust. Some people are losing all their earnings because they are leaving the front door open. That is what we have to try to protect and that is what the witnesses are trying to protect, but they are coming here today and saying their voice is not strong enough. What I am asking is how we can help with that. I want answers. I am taking on board everything the witnesses say. I will let them reply to that if they would not mind.