Mr. Joe Walsh:

The Bank of Ireland has been in receipt of €4.8 billion. It has made payments to the Exchequer of the order of €2.7 billion or €2.8 billion. We have complied absolutely with the directives and agreements with the Department of Finance and the Central Bank, one of which was a target given to the Bank of Ireland to provide new and increased lending to small businesses. Uniquely, the Bank of Ireland has not alone reached that target but has surpassed it.

For next year we will increase the amount of money going to small businesses from €3.5 billion up to €4 billion. I can only speak for Bank of Ireland but, uniquely, it is the only bank that is doing that. A total of €1.5 billion was put aside for new mortgages. That has been fully taken up and a further €2 billion has been provided for people who want to buy their own homes.

On the risk to the State, we had a guarantee about which much has been written and said. Bank of Ireland has pleaded with the Department of Finance to get off the guarantee. Shortly before I became a director on the board of Bank of Ireland, the risk to the State was €136 billion. It is now down to €25 billion.

The loans to deposit ratio is critical. It was one of the reasons Bank of Ireland and other banks got into trouble. It was 175%. It is now down to 128%.