Mr. Pat Kilbane:

In regard to the expenditure of €900,000 this year, it is important to note that in order to run the type of organisation we are running, involving the provision of huge numbers of loans to small clients, it requires a certain core infrastructure to be in place. The cost of infrastructure is of the order of some €700,000, without any marketing whatsoever. In terms of building volume off that infrastructure, the objective has to be to make more volume go through our business. The core cost effectively cannot be cut below those levels. As we begin to process more applications, that cost will not rise proportionately, but there is a certain minimum amount the Government has agreed to invest in the project in terms of the infrastructure to be put in place.

The €278,000 figure relates to once-off expenditure in 2012. In advance of the fund being established, there was an enormous amount of legal work, systems work and credit work to be done. All of that was completed in advance of the business being launched. It was a once-off cost and will not recur.

The key measure of value for us as a business relates to the question of how much it costs to support job creation. Our long-term target, which we disclosed in our accounts last year, is a cost of €2,500 to support a single job. As we indicated in a reply to a recent parliamentary question, the figure we are currently achieving is €3,600. We acknowledge that we have work to do to drive down that cost to the long-term average of €2,500. We are intent on doing so, by gaining more traction with the public and connecting more with businesses that are suffering. That is the core of our business - seeking to connect to the demand. We are asking all our partners, including this committee, to help us in that direction.