Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I, too, have had a lot of communication with the correspondent over some time, have asked parliamentary questions and so on. The whole idea with this fund, was that where commercial banks were not an option for some SMEs, this would ensure that we had a strong indigenous base in that small to medium sector, which is incredibly important and one of the bigger employers, if it is looked at collectively. This is an extremely important fund and it is not exclusively made up of public money, but there is a large portion of it that is made up of public money. The correspondent has certainly convinced me of his own bona fides in terms of the research that he has done, and this is exactly the kind of thing that is very useful when it is brought to our attention. In addition, is there a particular Department to which the SBCI responds, and if so, we should write to that Department also. I would also like to hear from the Comptroller and Auditor General on the interaction that his office has with the SBCI on this matter, and specifically whether the interaction is through the Department or is direct with the corporation.