Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Let us ask them to look back on the experience of those schemes. Do they suggest that they are a useful way of dealing with the matter?

With regard to failure, Microfinance Ireland approves about 50% of the applications submitted to it and builds in a loss of around 20%. There is an expectation that when it takes a punt it will lose in 20% of cases. They cannot work on the basis that the money is costless because otherwise those people would be on social welfare.