Mr. Gerard Brady:

I have seen studies from other countries. Here we examine the return on investment from the research and development tax credit. The Department of Finance did a study some years ago that showed a ratio of 2.4:1. Therefore, for every €1 in tax credit claimed by a company, its return on research and development was 2.4 times greater. In the UK, studies from Professor John Van Reenen and some other academics in the London School of Economics suggest the return on investment is much higher for SMEs, with a three- or four-fold return on tax credits for research and development for SMEs where they work. The key challenge relates not to the attractiveness of the credit but to the ability to use it in the first instance. If this were fixed, we would see a good return on investment, as we have overall under our research and development tax credit scheme. It is probably greater for SMEs, the international evidence suggests. I am happy to share it with the committee.