Mr. Mark Cunningham:

I think there is a degree of confusion and perhaps a degree of pre-announcement with regard to EIB money. No pure EIB money is yet available. The Government has set up the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland, SBCI. There is a combination of EIB and KfW money available through the SBCI. That is available through Bank of Ireland and, as Mr. Burke has said, through AIB. Mr. Cullen has not pre-announced it but it may well be available shortly.

There is some restriction with the SBCI money. A state aid test has to be gone through to ensure no additional state aid has been made available prior to that money being drawn down. In certain sectors, the funding is not available for farmers and agribusiness. The EIB development money, which has been mooted and discussed, perhaps acts to counter-balance that.

Mr. Crowley has addressed the question of cheque books. I think we are going to see cheques as an ever-declining feature of the landscape. Usage in Ireland is far higher than anywhere else in Europe. The expectation from the Government and the banking industry is that cheques and cash will be reduced as much as possible.