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

Essentially, the purpose of SBCI, or this particular aspect of the entity, was to ensure that the funding was to be used exclusively for the Irish economy and for the benefit of small and medium-sized enterprises. The legislation was clear. We all recall that such companies were struggling at the time to get finance from the commercial banks. This was to be a facility. Obviously, Bibby Financial Services Ireland is a component of the arrangements. The company provides a discount or service in respect of invoices to improve cash flow.

It is absolutely a requirement of the Committee of Public Accounts to ensure money is used the way it was intended to be used. I do not believe any of us need to make an apology for that. It is absolutely fine for people to take issue with it. Anyway, all we need to do is look at the evidence and interrogate it. I want to ensure that the questions are comprehensive enough and deal with the issue from the point of view of the evidence that has been provided to us. This is not a battle with a particular entity. It is about ensuring that we are getting what the legislation set out for this fund and what it was to be used for.