Mr. Ian Talbot:

I thank the Deputy for reading our commentary. That is always good to have. On the challenges facing business, our view on budget 2026 would be that there were two particular measures, one on the research and development tax credit and, of particular interest to small business, there was an increase in the amount you can get up front, which was always a problem for companies. It is the cashflow problem they face, so that increased and that was positive.

There is a challenge with regard to general access to finance for small, growing and scaling companies that have ambition. It is possibly a competitiveness question, if you like. If you look at the tax strategy group papers that assess the entrepreneur relief, SURE and all the various schemes, the message is that they are there, we need to market them more and spend more money through agencies in promoting them. Perhaps the schemes are poorly designed and administratively complex for companies to access. Perhaps they cost more with regard to hiring an accountant to access the schemes in order to qualify for them. That affects take-up.