Brendan Ryan (Labour)

I would hate to be misunderstood; I am not objecting to this body becoming a commercial agency. I am not naive enough to believe that, in the past, supposed commercial State agencies did not occasionally do favours for people. There is no one in the Ireland of today who would not be wary of an agency established by the State that has the capacity to either make, or not make, people rich.

The Minister has said State funding will cease at the end of next year. Will it be possible for the digital hub agency to seek funding from the State? What will happen if it loses money? Will it have a State guarantee if it loses money? Will it cease operations if it does not make money?