Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I have listened to the debate for the last hour and a half. It has been interesting. I believe, like many other Deputies, that we have to acknowledge that we are deeply disappointed with the branch closures in each of our constituencies. In my constituency, branches in Glanmire and in Munster Technological University have been lost, which is disappointing. My first question is on the Minister's response to Deputy Jim O'Callaghan in which he said that Ulster Bank took its decision because it obviously felt there was not enough profitability in the Irish market. What does the Minister think is the reason for the lack of competition or attractiveness of the Irish market as a whole? There is obviously a reason for it and I am interested in the Minister's view. The second question is about the credit guarantee scheme, which I have asked the Minister about before. There has been disappointing uptake of it. Only 10% of the €2 billion earmarked for the scheme has been drawn down. I am aware of individual cases involving people who have hundreds of thousands of euro worth of contracts and are looking for a relatively small loan to assist with cash flow, and are finding it difficult to get anything from the banks. I would appreciate a comment on that.

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