Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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I want to ask Mr. Kelly about the interest rates. He said that 12% is not unusual. It is very high. When this scheme was being devised, loans were being offered at interest rates of 0.25% and 0.5% by the European Investment Bank, EIB, and other sources, and here the State is tied into a contract where 12% interest is being paid out. That is highly unusual. It does not sit right with me for some reason. It does not seem like a good way to be doing business. I also notice that it is compound interest, which means that in a period of just under six years, that will double because there is an accumulator on it being compound interest. That in itself would seem like an excessive sum. I looked at some other infrastructure projects that were coming at 3.2% and 3.4% interest. Here we are with 12% compound interest. This has the potential to become a much larger sum. Does Mr. Kelly not find that unusual?