Mr. Steve Aiken:

To deal with Senator Deirdre Clune's point, this conversation started in the agribusiness sector in the context of how the United Kingdom and Ireland might tap into existing and future EU funding. The idea was that there would be a link between food and agribusiness in academia, agribusiness and the Government and that these entities would work in a tripartite fashion in order to try to progress matters. A number of questions on this matter emerged at our conference. For example, if this is going to work in agribusiness, could it not work in other sectors also? Why can we not tap into likely centres of technology, academia and business in order to make this work and grow? We understand a great deal of work is being done in making the case for an agribusiness cluster or triangle.

We are also advocating that particular consideration be given to the area of renewable energy because it is going to be of significance. As we move towards opening up the markets to renewable energy resources, this will provide an opportunity to take action on the supply side aspect on the island of Ireland. It will also create opportunities for industrial development. We must consider how we can take some of the cutting-edge renewable energy technologies being developed in academia, transform them into business opportunities and then make the two work together as a partnership. In the all-island perspective, that would be another good avenue to pursue.

Other questions have also arisen. Ours is a relatively small organisation, but it has very vibrant and innovative members who are asking why research cannot be carried out in the cultural, arts, sport, new media and other areas. This is another sector of growth to which we are going to continue to give consideration, as it is very important to do so. It is also important that Britain and Ireland have a success story in order that we can go to the European Union and say, "This is an area in respect of which we could consider providing funding in order to allow it to develop." That is what we are trying to do.

Senator Lorraine Higgins referred to banking. Some 5,100 companies are members of the British Irish Chamber of Commerce and they range from large operations all the way down to one or two-people start-ups. The reality is that, to some degree, they have all had issues with obtaining funding from the banks, innovative funding and how this issue is dealt with. We have not really seen much evidence of what Metro Bank is doing. We have attended the briefings, one of which was addressed by Vince Cable. We have listened to what has been said and know what the idea is behind what the bank is trying to do. However, we have not yet seen any evidence on the ground, but it is early days in this regard. We need to keep a watching brief during the next six to nine months in order that we might see what is going to happen. What is happening here ties in with the fact that RBS and Lloyds are very much Government owned. As a result, there is a wider question with regard to how these funds are released and how what is proposed is going to work.