James Reilly (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Ba mhaith liom fáilte a chur roimh na daoine as Irish Rural Link. Willkommen und guten Tagto the people from Sparkassen. The Chairman might say at some point that I have never shown my face at this committee before but as a spokesperson, for jobs and enterprise, I am very much interested in what the witnesses have said and their model, or at least what I know of it.

The witnesses may correct me if I am wrong but this goes back to old style banking where a person would walk the farm with the borrower or go to see a businessman or owner of a small and medium enterprise in the premises to have a look at what is being discussed. That is to be welcomed. I am sorry I was not here for Mr. Boland's presentation but I read it and he hit on the point I believe, which is there is a major distance between the big pillar banks and customers. Many people have a difficulty with this. I was going to comment on Mr. Boland's plea for support from Deputies as he might want some support from Senators too.