Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I accept that demand is depressed. There is certainly no question about that. Will Mr. Trethowan indicate why so much of the sanctioned lending is not drawn down? Does his office ever assess the reasonableness of the conditions that are attached to loan offers? Businesses have informed me that the security requirements that are attached and the interest rates that form part of the loan offer are often simply prohibitive. Banks are stating that they have approved particular amounts of lending but the reality is that much of this money will never be drawn down. This is because the conditions attaching to the money in question are so onerous that it would not be commercially viable for the borrowers involved to draw it down.