Mr. Kieran Tobin:

Independent off-licences would be members of DIGI and we know they are losing market share in addition to the on-trade. It is the multiples that have gained.

The question on innovation was very good. Baileys has been the great innovation success of the past 30 years. One of the other great successes has been a very traditional product, Irish whiskey. The company I work with, Irish Distillers, is the primary producer in this regard. We are considering a range of products that were popular in the 19th century, such as pot still products, and bringing them to market. Sometimes there is nothing new under the sun. These are some of the products that are successful abroad as well as at home. We are developing a new range in this area.

Of the traditional products across the sector, I have no doubt that Irish whiskey has considerable potential as it stands, irrespective of innovation. The innovation comes in terms of route to market, marketing, branding and positioning.

The product has the heritage and the tradition and we know how to make it. The innovation lies in its branding and promotion. Globally, approximately 90 million cases of scotch - we measure in 12-bottle cases - are sold. North American whisky sells 50 million cases. Irish whiskey sells just over 6 million cases. We could eat several people's lunches before they even realised, that is, we could double or treble our sales and still only account for a fraction of what the others are achieving. We have a long way to go to return to where we used to be, but we will undoubtedly get there.

In terms of innovation, it is important that we play in the domestic market; that is, companies should develop and try out new products domestically to determine whether the latter will fly. My colleague from Diageo might add something in this regard, as Guinness has been one of the more innovative companies. Sometimes it has done that well and sometimes it has not, but it is active in this area.