Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We accept that there needed to be some deleveraging in the banks' loan-to-deposit ratios, but the speed is impacting on the ability to get credit into the real economy. We know the State's unemployment figures.

Of the €3.5 billion in lending that AIB committed to last year, €600 million was new while the rest was refinancing. We are facing a real challenge. Has the Minister considered how to slow down the deleveraging process so that it assists the economy?

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