Mr. Fergal O'Brien:

I will make some initial comments and my colleague Mr. Brady might also comment. It is a concern for us. We have a great foreign direct investment sector but we spoke about some of the risks it faces including international tax pressures and other volatility in the global economy. Looking at the productivity index of the indigenous sector, some parts are quite average in a European context. We are not achieving the type of research, development and innovation performance that we need to be achieving. Our businesses and our public system are not spending enough on research and development. Research and development performance, particularly at the indigenous level, is well below the northern European high performing economy average seen in Germany, Denmark, Sweden and economies like that. That is one particular area.

Talent is a significant challenge. The labour market is very tight and it is difficult for small businesses to attract and retain talent. It is difficult for an SMEs to give a good proposition compared to the other employment opportunities in the economy. That is why we point to a meaningful share option scheme. It would really benefit the indigenous and SME sector to help companies to bring that talent in and tie them to the success of the business.