Ms Wendy Gray:

I will address just a couple of points that have not been covered.

Public procurement is subject to EU rules. It is not a case of the Government suddenly legislating. That is not an option.

On the question of companies which have applied to the State agencies, local enterprise offices, Enterprise Ireland or even Microfinance Ireland, the companies are always given feedback. Records are kept on the engagement and why an application was refused so that companies can learn from the experience.

The disruptive technologies innovation fund has been hugely competitive and oversubscribed. A huge amount of interest was shown in the fund. It is a multi-annual fund. We cannot provide an appeals process in each case because only a certain amount of money has been allocated. Successful applicants are selected, feedback is given and unsuccessful applicants can apply for the next round of funding, which is similar to how the regional enterprise development fund was run. Applicants are entitled to feedback, which allows them to improve their applications and they can apply for the next round of funding.