Dr. Dermot Coates:

Quite a lot of work has been done in the past six months on support packages for firms, especially in retail and hospitality, but not specifically on the 15,000 people on the sub-minimum rates. The Deputy will be aware from previous meetings that the SME support package came on-stream in May. The key takeaway from that was to look again at the link between the higher threshold for employer PRSI and how that links to the transition to the living wage. Commitments have been made and we expect see those changes introduced next month. In addition, there has been a roll-out of a variety of other measures, including the national enterprise hub, upgrading the level of supports available for decarbonisation-----