Dr. Orlaigh Quinn:

Our estimate was based on the knowledge we had at the time. We processed over 109,000 applications between the two schemes. We spent a lot of time with the sector and explaining the schemes to them. Under the criteria, companies had to be rate payers to qualify. They had to have a turnover of less than €5 million. We were aiming this at small businesses and, in the first round, it was for companies with 50 or fewer employees. It was aimed at the small business sector. We expanded that in the second round, the restart plus grant. Eligibility was expanded to include companies with 250 employees because we picked up from our feedback that companies were struggling. We expanded the scheme to cater for that. It was based on self-declaration and we made it simple. We are quite satisfied that the companies which applied were eligible under the criteria we were maintaining. A huge number of people are listed as small businesses but work in the construction sector or are sole traders. They came under other schemes organised by the Department of Social Protection.

Just to cover Fáilte Ireland and bed and breakfast establishments, the latter was another sector that felt excluded. From our perspective, we were satisfied that we had a scheme that was easy to apply for but that was rigorous in its intent. We are satisfied, therefore, that we hit the market and that we reached the cohort that we were trying to reach. There were 57,000 applications in the first round and we approved 85% of them. Not everybody who applied qualified. That is a really important point. Then we had 65,000 in the second round.