Mairéad Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am acutely aware of the impacts. Inflation is now at its pre-Covid rate so small and micro businesses are in a very difficult situation. We need to be frank and say that this is not as if the bank is leaving at a different point in time. I understand that some of these customers who are trying to find new banks have been told they must first wait until 12 to 18 months of trading has elapsed while being a member of the bank in order to get an overdraft, which puts businesses in real difficulty. We all know of businesses that are really struggling. Can Ms Howard confirm that this is her bank's experience of the small and micro businesses that it deals with? What feedback has she had about this situation?