Mr. Declan Hughes:

There are some changes proposed for the EWSS, which will come into effect between now and the end of April. That aspect was certainly a concern. It can be seen why, from a business perspective, you might try to bed down the existing business, solidify positions and consolidate your balance sheet. Certainly that may have been a position. What we are seeing now is that the economy is recovering and opening up. We have seen significant recruitment. We have also seen a reduction in the number of employers who are in receipt of the EWSS. Employers are coming off the scheme at a fairly healthy rate. It has decreased from 35,000 down to 25,000 and the number is steadily reducing. It is right for businesses to take a pragmatic approach.

As Mr. McDonnell has mentioned, it is acknowledged the scheme is a strong support. However, businesses are in the business of doing business. Once they can see there is sight of new contracts and certainty about reopening, they are getting on with additional recruitment. Right across the board, with the exception of a small number of sectors, they are now ahead of their employment in 2019. It is a key priority we maintain businesses and they remain open so that they can trade and trade internationally. From the first part of this year, we have seen very strong results from both Enterprise Ireland clients exporting and the foreign companies that are here restoring markets. There are businesses in education, aviation and other sectors that are not back to their 2019 levels and, indeed, recovery may take a little bit longer.

That is where supports such as the sustaining enterprise fund is important in terms of providing a fillip to their balance sheets and to help them to readjust. Many of those businesses are looking at new markets or new ways of providing online services.