Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

I am not going to seek reports from the ladies and gentlemen in question. They are well aware, however, of the difficulties faced by small businesses.

Regarding another point raised by Deputy O'Donnell, and echoed by Deputy Burton, the problems in the Irish banking sector do not derive from the trading in derivatives or other such financial instruments. They arose from an excessive exposure to property lending, a much more old-fashioned form of exposure.

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