Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will deal with each of the Deputy's points in turn. We are reviewing the operation of the different schemes. The Deputy's analysis of them is pretty fair. Some of them have been successful in releasing credit to particular kinds of companies while with other schemes, in particular the credit guarantee scheme, we have not seen the drawdown of a large amount of much of that facility yet. I am looking at the schemes and their future because how we provide liquidity and credit at this time of strain for so many smaller companies in particular is an important priority of mine.

I wish to confirm that there has been no public statement about the withdrawal of Ulster Bank from the Irish banking sector.

The statements that are made about Ulster Bank continue to state that it is engaged in a review of its presence here and of its future. On what I have done about this, I have engaged directly with NatWest. I have spoken to the chairperson of NatWest and I have reiterated to him what I have said in the Dáil, which is that I am concerned about the commentary and speculation, what it will mean for our economy and what it would clearly mean for those who depend on Ulster Bank for employment, credit or investment. I have conveyed that directly to NatWest. I have also raised the issue in engagement I have had with the British Government, by means of a phone call I had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer. I have, therefore, raised this on a number of different levels. It is not an issue, as the Deputy knows and has acknowledged, that I play a formal role in at all. This is a commercial decision being made by a larger parent company in which we clearly do not have a share and which is making broader decisions regarding its future.

On other banks here-----