Mr. Aidan Gough:

Yes, there is a high demand for our programmes. Obviously we must cut our cloth. There is no way around that.

The Deputy asked if the agenda is self-created. We work very closely with the two Departments and with all the other enterprise agencies to ensure, first, that we avoid duplication and that anything we are delivering is seen to add value to the businesses with which we work. We monitor carefully every euro we give, and we know that for every euro we expend the ratio of added value to the business is approximately 12:1. There is a good return for the business and for the Exchequer on the money we are spending. We work closely with the two agencies to ensure there is no duplication. They sit on the steering committee of every programme and initiative we run. We also work very closely with the two Departments. We have an oversight liaison arrangement with the two Departments and we meet with them three times a year. In addition, there is direction which comes from the North-South Ministerial Council when the two Ministers meet, which is approximately three times a year. That is where our policy direction comes from.

InterTradeIreland is unique in that it is an all-island body. We have a significant research agenda and we bring ideas forward. One of the areas we are working on, which I will mention again later, is increasing co-operation to draw down European funding, particularly Horizon 2020 research and development funding. We are devoting a great deal of effort to increasing the opportunities there, which is a benefit to the island, North and South. We have an all-island steering group composed of the various Departments and the agencies. We are running a number of programmes that are helping businesses and researchers for North-South partnerships. We started operating in this area in 2010 when we invited the EU Commissioner, Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, to a North-South Ministerial Council meeting. Since then, the rate of North-South applications has almost doubled and the drawdown has increased substantially. The total North-South drawdown will be approximately €80 million where North-South partnerships are involved. We hope through the steering group we have established - we are just developing a paper in that regard - to at least double that drawdown in Horizon 2020 due to the structures that are now in place to support co-operation. Furthermore, it has become a priority within the Northern Ireland Executive to access this funding, while in the South the drawdown under Horizon 2020 has more than doubled. The target is now €1.25 billion compared to €600 million. Both governments are devoting many resources to this area and we believe North-South co-operation will make a big contribution to helping the governments achieve those targets. Dr. Eoin Magennis will talk about micro finance and issues regarding the base rate.

Demand is increasing. The Deputy mentioned the ISME figures. As the economy starts to grow we would expect the demand to start increasing. That is the reason we produced this report because we were aware of that. The financial distress showed many problems within the sector and the overall market that is supporting the finance for growth. That is the reason we did the report. It revealed things such as a lack of information, a lack of capability and a lack of diversity in the supply of finance. As demand is increasing we have an opportunity to get that marketplace right.

Dr. Magennis will deal with the right-sizing of debt and I have already mentioned Horizon 2020. Dr. Magennis will also reply to some of the finance questions.