Dr. Michael Somers:

AIB has said that €600 million of the €3.5 billion, or whatever the figure is, is new lending. The rest is refinancing, turning over existing loans. That is just as important in many ways as new lending because many people are complaining that they cannot get their loans refinanced. I hear complaints all the time, and I am sure the Deputy does too, from people who go into the banks and find that their loan is due for repayment and they are obliged to repay it. If they want to roll it over, the bank refuses to do so. They cannot go anywhere else because when one's own bank turns one down, there is nowhere to go. I would much prefer if there was more lending. I am told that it is just as important to roll over existing loans as to give out new lending.

The bank is prepared to lend to viable projects. It keeps saying so to us because we raise this regularly at the board. As Mr. Spring said, the CEO has gone around the country and asked people if they want money. In the past week or two we introduced a new provision whereby the banks would lend €25,000 to individuals on a turnaround of either 24 or 48 hours. I know this is a small thing but we are doing our best to push this matter. We cannot get this economy moving if there is no credit being provided. We are determined to do everything we can to get credit into the system.