Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Absolutely everything, Chairman. It does not require rocket science to carry out such an audit. The information should be readily available. On foot of that we should take into account that interest rates throughout Europe are now at an all-time low. During the economic boom in this country we were regularly informed that interest rates were at an all-time low. Why was the economy not progressing? It was simply because the moneys were used for speculative purposes in non-essential areas and in a way which created inflation in the housing sector in particular. Why not harness the current low interest rates, given that it is appreciably more valuable to invest in something that will give a greater return than to invest in a lending institution at the moment?