Peter Mathews (Dublin South, Fine Gael)

Five minutes is tight. It is barely time to make two lightly boiled eggs or to get across some points which I believe are important. I refer to Deputy Ó Cuív's closing comments. A bank balance sheet of €20 billion would require capital of no more than €2 billion because there is a multiplier effect when one takes into account capital, good management and the direction of a bank. One expands the capital by taking deposits and with those deposits one can expand one's lending activities and investments. That is what may have been intended in the programme for Government. Anyway, I will not get distracted because we are discussing the Credit Guarantee Bill.

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