Mr. John A. Moran:

Timing is everything. Deputy Butler is asking questions to which I keep wanting to say, "Yes". She is absolutely right. Timing is critical. For those running a business, cash is already depleted. Most businesses run on two months of cash reserves, on average. They have been closed for three and a half months. They are now already very negative, as Ms McCabe has just said. If we wait another few months, it will be worse. I know it is difficult and the conversations that are taking place around the programme for Government have been long. The legislative vacuum has meant it has been difficult to get legislation introduced, but SMEs need to have a path they can follow. They need to know with certainty that stuff will arrive on time. They need to know when it is coming and that it will be significant enough in size to help them to plan their way forward.

They run on cycles. They need to know. This is why waiting until 28 August to extend the wage scheme means they do not know whether to keep people on the payroll for the following month or whether they will have the cash subsidy. We are talking about real people's lives. We need to recognise that we need to move quickly to find ways to help them to get through the crisis.