Mr. Neil McDonnell:

Yes. We would agree with Deputy Ó Ríordáin on that one. There is absolutely a business case for this. That is why I took up this invitation and am here today. In our pre-budget submissions and our submissions to the SME task force, we continually emphasise the importance of education. If I could be cynical for a moment, I would say this is one of a long list of business priorities for small businesses that are also ignored by the body politic but we want to see this one addressed.

I draw the committee's attention to the fact we have been campaigning for two years for a basic business qualification for small businesses. We want to upskill our own people in this sphere. Businesses contribute to the upskilling requirement via the National Training Fund deduction, in that 1% of PRSI is taken off employers and put into the National Training Fund. There is close to €1 billion in the fund, which we are trying to allocate intelligently to get the best impact for the business community in specific upskilling. I agree with the Deputy's point that there is a solid business case to remove inequality in the leaving certificate and pre-leaving certificate.