Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Penrose. I want to be fair to him because he has been raising this for a long time. I really mean it when I say the report has been produced and will be before the Government in the next two weeks. The Minister for Finance, Deputy Paschal Donohoe, and I have read the report. We have to bring it before the Cabinet. We will publish it as quickly as possible after it considers it.

I agree with the Deputy on some of the comments he made. There is a problem and I am hearing every single day as a rural Deputy, not as a Minister, how banks are dealing with consumers. We do need a bit of competition in the market. Banks have certainly lost the sense of what they used to do and are certainly not there for the people anymore. They are there for themselves, not for the ordinary general public who need banking services. The banks no longer want to take cash and they do not want to give out loans. I do not know what they want to do any longer. There are many complaints. Small businesses are finding out daily that they cannot obtain the credit they need, nor can they get the supports.

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