Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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I will consider those comments. I just saw what The Irish Timeshas reported. I know I am sometimes quoted in a way that differs from my remarks. I will have a good read of the article.

My next question is on the high prevalence of so-called zombie companies across the EU and on how a significant interest rate increase could impact them and, by extension, the wider EU economy. Obviously, increasing interest rates makes it increasingly difficult for them and jeopardises their solvency. I am aware that the French bank Natixis estimates that the proportion of zombie companies has risen from 3.5% at the beginning of the 1990s to close to 21% in 2019. The research carried out, including research by the Financial Times,indicates one fifth of Europe's corporate landscape may now be zombified, but that research was all carried out before the pandemic. If more than one fifth of those in Europe's corporate sector were zombified before the pandemic, it seems likely, and it would not be a massive leap of faith to believe, that this proportion has increased. In this regard, I am wondering about two points. How many of the so-called zombie companies do the witnesses believe are in Ireland's corporate sector? From the point of view of financial stability and employment, what would be the implications of a sharp interest rate increase for those companies and the wider economy? My questions are slightly hypothetical, but it would be quite interesting to hear the delegates' views on them.