John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Mr. Tobin referred to diversity of thought within the banks. I would have thought there was loads of diversity of thought, that they had all sorts of ways and means to think outside the box to ensure they put as much money into the public domain and into businesses as they possibly could. They probably had too much freedom of thought. I understand what Mr. Tobin meant but when we look back we can learn a lot from it.

He mentioned the SMEs which I am greatly concerned about because the ones I see are family-run businesses employing people in a parish or community and might be the only employer. They have been affected by the downturn, they are on the credit bureau and will not get loans. Maybe part of the reason for borrowing not being at the level we would expect is that there is a huge restriction within the banks in respect of those SMEs that maybe went beyond what they would normally be involved in and got caught. The banks were saved and flexibility is needed now within the banks such that rather than condemning a whole generation of entrepreneurs who could bounce back and be productive again, there is some incentive. They should measure the risk.