Anthony Lawlor (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am aware of that. We may have moved beyond the need to establish such a bank at this stage.

The BES was a good initiative and it should have been brought to a close when expansion began. In addition, the section 23 reliefs should have been stopped when the property market took off. Those reliefs were only put in place to kick-start activity. Similarly, the BES was designed to kick-start activity in the business arena. It should have been brought to a close when activity commenced in earnest because its continued operation led to subsequent inflation.

I have taken on board the real and valid points made by our guests. MABS is struggling to deal with the sheer volume of people seeking its services. Perhaps the SFA and IBEC could come together to establish an organisation similar to MABS to assist those in business who are in difficulty.