Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)

I thank the Minister. I wish to take him up on one of his points, as the others might arise in later questions. Previously, I raised with him the difficulties being experienced by some hotels in getting credit whereas those that owed the most, those that were virtually owned by banks, were having no trouble in getting credit. Indeed, money was being poured into them. I wrote to the Competition Authority about this matter, which responded to the effect that it shared my concerns. It is trying to approach the matter from a different angle. Unfortunately, a requirement under the Competition Act is that one firm must be dominant if the authority is to act. That is not currently the case, although it may be when the loans are taken over by NAMA. Nevertheless, what is occurring is anti-competitive and distorting the market.

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