Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Again, there are no specific proposals for retail. I accept the Minister of State is meeting people but he mentioned the €3.5 billion. At the Joint Committee on Finance and Public Expenditure meeting three weeks ago, AIB admitted that of the €3.5 billion, it was making only €600 million in new finance available to businesses. We have discussed this before. I welcomed the loan guarantee scheme and said it would be interesting to see how it rolls out. The reality on high streets around the country is that retail is suffering, it is in distress and this Government is offering nothing but platitudes.

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