Mr. Bernard Coyle:

I thank Senator White for her good wishes. Needless to say I also admire all the great things Senator White achieved. It does take hard work. This brings us to the point that when Enterprise Ireland comes before the committee, I think there is a case for segregating companies, yet not disenfranchising any of them. If one goes to the races and there are ten horses on the card, one must make a choice on who one chooses. It is horses for courses. There is room for the artisan food companies and there is room for the mid-tier companies but, as Senator White said, it is the people who will commit to work 24/7 for 365 days of the year. Not everybody will have that level of motivation. That is fine. We are all told of the need for work-life balance, but the bodies should go out of their way to segregate those who have that level of motivation and drive to put that level of effort in. That will help to pick winners that will get to platform 2 or platform 3 quickly.

The UK is our nearest market but the market in France is starting to open up. Let me give a quick example. We are launching a new brand on the Continent this year but in January we set a minimum floor of €250,000 to put behind it. We have already exceeded that amount of money. We are getting very good feedback but we will not get paid back until next year. When we talk about artisan food companies getting ready to get on the export train, there must be some segregation because not everybody will be in the starting position.

Senator Tóibín mentioned sick pay. Sick pay is a significant cost for Government and it must be treated very delicately. Again, if one is producing a product and people are out sick, as the producer one must replace them. One will then have to pay the person that is sick as well as paying the person who is doing the job.

I know the Government has been considering the diesel rebate for some time. It is beginning to affect our comrades in the haulage industry. Hauliers are dropping like flies. Agricultural contractors also experiencing the hit. As an island nation we need a vibrant transport industry. The number of haulage companies that are going under is shocking. It also raised the allied issue of green diesel.

Enterprise Ireland is doing a very good job in difficult circumstances. Bord Bia is doing extremely well, but it is time to start segregating companies and picking winners and putting the emphasis on them, whether it be cash or expertise. Mentoring is fine but one needs people with the relevant experience, with all due respect to consultants. One needs a person who has been there and done that.