Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

I shall consider the matter when Fine Gael outlines its proposals in relation to bad loans because the availability of EU funding through the European Central Bank would be contingent on this. When there is a scoped proposal, I shall examine it.

As regards the review, it is progressing well, but to ensure it was comprehensive extra steps were taken, including the inclusion of banks other than those recapitalised, in order to obtain a full picture of overall credit availability. This is a vital question because all the evidence suggests those banks with external ownership are deleveraging more than those based in Ireland. The addition of extra third parties to the review, a review of the detailed terms of engagement of the consultants, the inclusion of a credit insurance issue, consideration of confidentiality concerns of participating banks and the inclusion of banks other than the recapitalised banks to obtain a full picture of overall credit availability were vital. Allied Irish Banks and the Bank of Ireland had committed to the review as part of the recapitalisation package. Other banks, including Ulster Bank, Bank of Scotland (Ireland), NIB, ACC, Anglo Irish Bank and KBC, were invited to participate, even though they had not made a commitment to become involved. The intention was to include the main banks involved in lending to businesses in Ireland, but their inclusion created a need for more formalised conditions attaching to the review. Some of the banks involved had head offices outside Ireland and were obliged to consult their parent companies about participation in the review. Publication of the review will be at the end of June.

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