Michael Comiskey (Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their presentations. It is good to see good news coming through. Hopefully, it will be delivered on the ground. The question we are often asked was whether the banks were open for business. This particularly applied to land purchases. We often get comments from farmers who have long-standing relationships with banks that they are still put through strict procedures when they apply for loans. Perhaps it is no harm as it may have been too relaxed at some stages.

My question for Ulster Bank concerns the closure of some of their branches in smaller towns, which affects some of the areas I come from. Some small farmers dealing with Ulster Bank may not move to the branch in the nearest town. It may be 15 miles away and I see this as being a negative point for Ulster Bank.

Recovery always happens after two or three bad years and this is happening now in the beef sector after one bad year. We see a good buoyant trade for beef and store cattle at the moment. Hopefully it will last. Dairy is a bit worrying, with the predicted cut in price, but hopefully farmers will be able to overcome it and develop continue to develop.