Mr. Frank Gleeson:

I agree with Deputy Tóibín that the retail sector is the poor relation in banking at present. When I deal with independent retailers in the market, the exiting banks are willing to do deals but they cannot fund it through the Irish indigenous banks. That is the fundamental problem. There may well be some toxic loans or restructuring needed but they cannot get the restructuring done because the Irish banks have not got down to dealing with the small and medium sized enterprises yet. The banks are dealing with the larger companies. We need to have the issues addressed. There are many viable businesses, retailers have reset the bar in terms of running the business but the refinancing is critical. That is the fundamental point. When I talk to all independent retailers they spell out the difficulty in refinancing their business for medium to long term, given that the Irish banks are not interested in their business at this time.