Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)

I thank the witnesses for coming in today. It is very important they are here when we are discussing this topic of competitiveness. I note all the contributions they have made to that space with regard to what needs to be done and it is timely we are here the day after the budget. I might focus on what the witnesses have requested and what has happened in the budget.

There are a few questions I will throw out there and the witnesses can answer them as they so wish. First, in its statement yesterday, Chambers Ireland said that "most businesses won't experience any direct benefit from today's measures". They might answer that for me.

The other one is around the MetroLink not being specifically mentioned in any of the budget day documents and would not, at this stage, appear to be in receipt of dedicated funding in 2026. That is from the analysis we had from the Parliamentary Budget Office.

With regard to productivity, what is impacting on it mostly? I also ask the witnesses to speak to the housing situation. They rightly identify housing as probably the major constraint to our competitiveness with respect to people being able to house their workers.