Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I cannot see the expression of the Acting Chairman's face in the way I normally would. That puts one at a disadvantage because one cannot see the nuances one would normally expect. The key is that it should go on for as long as it takes. That does not refer to the speech but that might be useful some time too. The point to be made about the fund is its accessibility, workability and cost. By cost, I mean the costs of the loans to the businesses concerned. It is no good saying we have to take our handling fee out of it. We are in the European Union, the same as everybody else, and we are in the middle of the eurozone. We need to be able to say to our people that we have access for them to a loan system that is very cost-effective. It is the best there is and that is the way it should be because of the Europe-wide situation.

One should not pass the occasion without mentioning that all of the problems in society have not surfaced just yet. Brexit will be with us for a long time. In the next 12 months, and especially in the next six months, it will emerge in some way that will tell us the extent to which it will be negative. No matter what we do about it, it will not be positive. On this occasion, unlike the economic crash, we do not have all the countries in Europe pulling together. Some countries are gone and some are indulging in a little bit of nationalism. That is a sad, unfortunate fact, but it is a fact of life. I ask the Minister and Government to bear in mind that as the months roll by, we need to be able to find out at the earliest possible stage what Brexit will do to the small business sector across the length and breadth of this country, and to try to minimise and provide for it before it happens. As our friend in the European Central Bank said, we need to do that for as long as it takes. Nobody will come to our aid if we are docile and go under. We need to shoulder the burden of this no matter what it takes. We are part of that Union and will be affected more than any other country in Europe by Brexit. That will make itself obvious as time goes by.

I thank the Acting Chairman. I can see him getting a bit uneasy. I could go on for another 20 minutes or so but there are only four minutes left.

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