Mr. Padraic McElwee:

I will take the questions on the Questum Acceleration Centre. I am familiar with that building and my colleague, Anthony, facilitated a visit there. I would like to have such a centre in Clare because what it has done for the region has been fantastic. To answer the Senator’s question, we can build that capacity because that model has been effective. What is important about that is the collaboration between the companies. It is a model that could be replicated and that will support our innovation culture. I would not say there is a capacity issue there. I would see it more as an opportunity to grow and develop that. We will work with our colleagues in Enterprise Ireland on that.

Remote working hubs are well catered for. A number of State agencies and private operators are facilitating them. It is hard to assess demand because Covid restrictions meant some of the capacity was restricted but that was due to social distancing. It will be more informative to assess how effective they are as we return to a greater degree of normality in the next month or two. They are hugely important for what was mentioned. It would be beyond my remit to comment on the small FDI companies. That would be a matter for the Government and Members of the Oireachtas but Mr. Clancy might touch on it, given his background in IDA Ireland.