Mr. Patrick Sharkey:

I want to address what Deputy English said about confidence regarding contractors and their working capital. There is a capacity issue in the construction industry in all parts of Ireland.

We have to remember that in north County Donegal there is an added capacity issue because of this crisis we are facing. Not only do we need to have the confidence of the existing stock of contractors, we also effectively need to grow the construction industry in our region. When banks are looking at the defective security on their balance sheets they need to be mindful of the need for confidence in relation to the flow of funding. This is not just to get the engagement from the existing number of contractors in our area but to also grow the capacity and to grow the number of builders and contractors in our area. Maybe this is something that the committee take away today in terms of how we can support the construction industry to have confidence in this and to see this as an opportunity for their businesses.