Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I very much agree with the Deputy about the importance of the SME sector. In all parts of Ireland, large numbers of people are employed in small firms. When we talk about SMEs, people might not appreciate that we are talking about firms with up to 500 employees. A company with that number of employees is quite a large firm but it is technically an SME. We know that the public sector has been largely protected through the pandemic. Very few people in the public service have lost their job, which is a good thing. Employees of large multinational companies have also largely been protected. The people who have borne the brunt of the pandemic are those working in small firms in the private sector. That is why we need to focus our efforts on them.

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