Mr. Jerry Lundy:

I wish to respond to some of the queries raised by and comments made by the committee. To help small businesses and farmers in the outermost and coastal regions, we have been calling for simplification of the application form and dedicated funding, as opposed to funding from so many agencies, which puts small companies off as it is too laborious. To revitalise coastal and island regions, we have also been calling for the creation of sustainable jobs in these areas. I have always said we have looked down for energy - coal, gas and oil. The time has come to look up. There is lots of wind around the coast, as well as wave power. There is also sunshine from time to time. To create sustainable jobs, we need to look at these forms of energy, not follow the conventional ways of the past. It would help to keep communities in coastal areas and create jobs. We talk about the blue economy. That is the future, but we cannot have an economy without a community. The community must be there first and the economy will follow.