Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

That is a fair point. However, let us not overstate the impact into the future of ERDF on our business support measures, as the bulk of this will be Exchequer financed. Entrepreneurship in Ireland has gone from strength to strength. The most recent global economic monitor rates Ireland as No. 1 in terms of entrepreneurial activity within the entire European Union. Some 80% of Irish people now perceive entrepreneurship in a positive light.

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