Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

This firm has been negotiating with AIB. I understand its representatives have sought restructuring of the firm's debt, either through a write-down or extending the term of the loan or part of it, but these requests have been refused. That is what has led to the current problem. This is particularly hard to swallow, given that AIB was saved on the back of the tax dollar of every citizen and other companies and individuals such as INM and Mr. Denis O'Brien, etc., have received massive write-downs. None of this process is transparent and it is costing jobs and unfair. It is also not conducive to a healthy, functioning economy. A system is needed to solve the problem of functioning businesses laden with debt. They need to be enabled to separate themselves from the debt. The Minister has pushed responsibility for the future of these jobs to the court, but he is a shareholder in the bank and could use that leverage to determine its policy in the future. He could also create a system to separate the debts of functioning businesses and ensure there was a proper restructuring process. If a business is functioning, making a profit and has orders to beat the band, as the other Deputies said, there is an onus on us to save the functioning element of the business from the debt. That is where the responsibility lies.

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