Mr. Mark Kelly:

I have a second-generation business, started by my father in 1977. We were fortunate and happy to be able to work through the worst recession this country has endured. We seemed to be able to manage, to do our jobs and keep everything nice and tight. We ran a tight ship. At the start of the upturn, this project came along. The main reason we took it on was because it was a government job. When I heard that it was a government job I thought it would be a safe, secure job. Having traded through a bad recession, this is the first time we have been hit with a company owing us money. Our suppliers have reduced our credit limit from approximately €40,000 to €5,000 per month. We can go through €5,000 in five working days, which leaves us trying to finance ourselves for the rest of the month. We have tried to open up accounts with other creditors. One is almost on one's knees begging for credit. I have traded through the recession. We have been hit in this instance but we are fighting back. We will continue to fight back. We will not let this do us down but it will be a hard long slog to get back to where we were.

We have been trading in Dublin for 20 years but it feels like we just walked into Dublin last week in that we are starting from scratch trying to access credit. As Mr. Hennebry said, when tendering for jobs one knows the materials that will be needed but we cannot tender for work because we do not have the credit to supply materials. This is putting us back a long way. Thankfully, we have picked up one project that I have to try to manage myself. I have not taken a salary from the company since December. I had to let my office staff go so I have to run the office and the site myself. I am trying to ensure I have wages for my staff and I am tendering for work. I had to let three staff go, the weight of which is on my shoulders. As stated by Mr. Hennebry, we are just engrossed in the work. When we go home at night, it is very hard not take the work home with us. As much as we try, we cannot do it. If one has a bad day, it is hard to put it at the back of one's mind and not take it home. I emphasise that one of the reasons we took on this contract was it was a government project.