Aubrey McCarthy (Independent)

I thank everybody for being here today. I could not agree more with the Leas-Chathaoirleach about the pressures on small businesses in Ireland. I have a small business and realise the SME test does not come into play in quite a lot of legislation. I am a fairly new Senator but I have spoken about the SME test at various levels, including in the defamation area at the moment.

I note from the Community Enterprise Association Ireland's statement that less than 7% of the €145 million smart regions fund has been drawn down since 2023. What are the flaws? What is blocking that? Why is that happening and how could we quickly change it?