Feargal Quinn (Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Commissioner is very welcome and I was delighted to hear her speech. I have four points, one of which concerns red tape. There must be something we can do about red tape. In France, they do not have the same red tape for a company employing four people as for one employing 400. We do not seem to have done enough, but is the answer in our hands or in Europe's hands?

As regards energy supply, we have the answer in Europe and America with fracking for shale gas. It must be possible to examine this here. We have once again started an inquiry which will delay us two years, yet there is a huge opportunity involved.

It is so interesting to see what New Zealand has been able to do in research on food. We are doing a lot here but are we doing enough in Europe as a whole to research food, particularly dairy, and what has been done concerning exports for China?

As regards investing in research, does the Commissioner have a view on crowd funding - the ability to get many people to invest in companies with the objective not solely of making money but also of supporting that company at the same time?