Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I shall make a counter-argument. If anybody imagined that the recession, the crisis, the slump - call it what one will - would be short term, we have all been enlightened in that regard. For any borrower, particularly in the SME sector, the review mechanism is a valuable permanent arrangement. As Deputy Mathews has said, the State is bound up with the banking sector in a way that was not the case a decade ago. One imagines that at some stage the majority of banks at least will return to their private commercial status. Let us hope that is the case. To some extent, borrowers will view banks as being impenetrable when it comes to decisions. The review mechanism redresses the balance and gives a level of transparency to borrowers.