Mr. Seamus Maye:

I have a short answer for Deputy Eugene Murphy. He asked a straight question and I will give him a straight answer, which is "Probably not". I read out what the Minister for Rural and Community Affairs, Deputy Ring, had to say about the desperate state of banking and how badly everyone needs public banking. While it is just an example and it may be unfair, when the Minister crosses the M50 and enters the Pale, the Government's stance is that there is no compelling case for public banking. Which is it and why is this the Government's stance? Everyone knows there is a compelling case for public banking. As such, the problem is at Government level. It is a political problem, a problem in the Department of Finance, a Central Bank problem and an ECB problem. These are the entities which are preventing this from going ahead.