David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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I agree.

I come from the south east and know the importance of these things. I speak to the chamber of commerce members and owners of small and medium-sized businesses all the time. Big infrastructure and capital investment are important. Some big projects need to be funded. Having money in people's pockets is also important, as is footfall on our streets.

My final question is about the quid pro quoI described earlier. Some organisations that support and represent businesses have shown a reluctance to pay the living wage or provide decent work and wages. I believe that the State should invest in SMEs. It should provide the liquidity that is needed and pump billions of euro into the economy. That would save jobs, which is important. We also need to face the reality that there are many people on low pay who do not have money in their pockets to spend. They do not earn a living wage and the cost of living for those people is too high. It would be good to hear a representative business organisation state that it would support the living wage, decent work and decent pay as a quid pro quofor the levels of investment that the SME sector receives. Will our guests respond to that point?