Mr. A. J. Noonan:

Absolutely. The relationship issue with banks is down to the human resource factor. A lot of bankers - relatively young men and women - have taken packages. They could not afford to stay for many reasons. A new generation is now coming through in the domestic banks and I have met a number of them both in my business and in my SFA role. That position will improve in the coming years. The banks are finding their feet, although I am not an apologist for them; therefore, members should not get me wrong. I am just suggesting they have been through a very tough time also. The fear that persists is felt in credit departments. A lot of front-line managers and others dealing with businesses are much more proactive and want to do deals. However, issues start to arise when matters go back to the banks' credit departments.

I agree completely with Senator Feargal Quinn in the sense that if the Government can give us a chance, we will certainly deliver jobs. As the Senator rightly said, we have done this before. However, there is an equity piece of roughly 30% missing. Some companies the balance sheets of which have been destroyed in recent years have to rebuild them. The Government should allow the tax system to work through the EIIS, reduced capital gains tax or rollover relief. It should give people a break to allow them to invest in relations or businesses. We do not want any money from it and do not think we are going to get any because it does not have any. However, we want the tax system to be facilitated to allow people to grow.