Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Deputy O'Sullivan raises an important point. In some lending schemes that we have put in place, the amount of capital we made available has been fully drawn down. Some other schemes, which Deputy O'Sullivan may well be referring to, have not seen the same demand. We will have to examine whether there is a case to reallocate that funding, what we can learn from schemes that have gone well, and if there is a need to amend schemes for which there is not the same level of demand. That said, we are probably only now approaching the point where we are likely to see SMEs that want more credit decide to take it.

The Deputy made a point about the lack of competition. I emphasise a significant factor in the lack of competition we are debating and to which I referred in response to Deputy Calleary. A key factor in Ulster Bank's decision was that it did not believe it could earn the kind of profit in Ireland that made it worth its while to stay. That matters to the 2,400 people it was employing, which is why I am interested in it. It matters to the more than 2,000 people who depended on their employer being able to be profitable in the future, which they needed to warrant staying with it as an employer.

See this speech in context