Mr. Paddy Malone:

I would like to make a number of points on that. I am an accountant by profession although my wife believes it is the other way around. What we find is that the entrepreneurial relief has some appeal but it is not enough. There are a number of businesses in the Dundalk area that have gone into Newry, because the relief is there and they know it. When one is sitting down talking to a business and trying to convince it to stay here it is not possible. Deputy Breathnach will probably be aware of the business I am thinking of, which got a lot of publicity recently.

Many entrepreneurs in Ireland make their money and walk away at an early stage, earlier than they should. The tax relief does not encourage them to build the pot up any bigger, to scale up. When they walk away, they do not go again. They are not quick enough to go back in again. I believe if they built things up to a certain size, they would have a better confidence in going again. Scalability is another issue. They are out too early and we are losing out as a result.

I was involved in one business this week which sold out at less than €1 million and the expectation is that it is going to be fantastic. The guys were quite happy and they did not see a reason for staying on any longer.