Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 10 February 2022

Public Accounts Committee

2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 29 - Environment, Climate and Communications
National Broadband Plan Expenditure and Related Matters

9:30 am

Mr. Barry Kelly:

The important thing to differentiate there is between a low-cost loan. If one thinks about paying one's mortgage at 2% or 3%, they are secured loans. It is very important to differentiate between an unsecured shareholder loan and a secured bank loan. If a person goes to the bank and gives security and he or she does not pay it back, the bank will enforce that security to get its money. Here, we have shareholders who invested their money where there is no security.