Mr. Fergal O'Brien:

We have some concerns about the supports. We do not really have the details of how the Brexit contingency fund, as set out in the budget, will operate in practice. We also have concerns about the EU Brexit fund. Obviously, it is crucial for us to get our proportionate share given that Ireland will have some of the most affected business sectors of any economy in Europe.

I fully endorse Ms King's comments on the need for social dialogue, particularly in the context of the short-term working measures we regard as crucial. We have been calling for that since long before the Covid pandemic. I know we have again got caught up on a roof in the middle of a storm trying to fix this. We have not used the past six or eight months well even after we introduced the Covid emergency wage-subsidy supports.

We have been calling for an export credit insurance scheme for a number of years. With Brexit we know that companies will need to diversify out of the UK. Covid is also making that more difficult. People in SMEs in particular cannot travel to meet customers or potential customers in Europe in the same way that their competitors in other countries can. Their aviation is operating better than ours. They can get into a car or take a train. Our companies are feeling particularly remote and disadvantaged at the moment. Having an export credit scheme is crucial. We have been engaging with Government for a number of years on that, but it has not been brought into operation.