Mr. Mark Christal:

That is the role we would play. What we want to stress to the committee is that we are supporting those companies where there is potential for the company to grow. It is not about that the company will come in and say it can show immediate sales of €1 million or will employ ten people. It is the potential to get there. That is where the market comes into play, clearly. Our remit looks at domestic market capability but also at the export market capability. Once that is determined, the role Enterprise Ireland, EI, plays is of supporting companies at all stages of their growth. It can be in so many forms. It can be around the initial research and development that has to take place. It can be around the capital investment that is needed to develop a processing facility. It can be to do with the management capability and supporting key hires within the business. The message is if there a company that has, in this case sheep milk, a processing facility that is established and has the potential to make sales and to export that product, or a secondary product that comes from the processing of sheep milk, then it is the role of the LEOs or Enterprise Ireland to row in behind the company and to support the company on that journey.

It is not so much that there is a policy restriction, not that I am aware of, but our role is to examine the market potential, if there is a commercial entity we can support and then applying the right EI supports to the company at that stage.