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

It is a view. I did not give the Chairman a glib answer. I gave him a serious answer that reflects the challenge we have currently in attracting and maintaining large international banks to Ireland. It is not a glib answer; it is a realistic answer. I would certainly welcome the collaboration and help of this committee in, as the Chairman said a moment ago, talking up Irish banking. It would be very beneficial if, the next time banks were before this committee, the Chairman would acknowledge their role as employers. I am not sure when Ulster Bank or KBC Bank were before this committee. Did he ever ask them if they were planning to leave Ireland? Did he ever say to them that he valued the investment, employment and the work they do in Ireland? If he did, I may well have missed it. It is not the case that I am offering a glib answer as I am trying to answer a serious point from the Chairman. What I am describing to him is an environment in which large international banks do not want to be present in Ireland in the way they were previously. If there were other banks, apart from the Irish banks that are registered here, that were interested in these acquisitions the Chairman can be sure we would be aware of it.