Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 1 February 2023

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach

Engagement with Ulster Bank and KBC Bank Ireland

Photo of Mairead FarrellMairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Let us say I had a business that sold tea to this committee, business was normal for a long number of years, and I always had a solid business for 20 years. Then Covid hit so the committee conducted meetings using MS Teams and I could not sell my tea to the committee. Now, costs have increased due to the war in Ukraine so my business is experiencing a difficulty. To recap, my business has existed for years but now it is in a difficult position so I have greater reliance on the overdraft facility, and now I must move my account to a different bank that does not know me and, therefore, I might not have access to the same kind of overdraft facility. Am I correct that such a new situation could have a serious impact on any business?