Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

I have examined the amendment and the issue raised is an important one. We need our community to have access to the credit and do not want people to resort to services provided by those who require high interest. Section 6(5) provides for the preparation of a scheme relating to these issues, the terms and conditions relating to the granting of a guarantee. The Minister has a wide discretion but a guarantee cannot be subject to issues such as credit for those on low incomes. This is not because it is not a desirable policy objective — clearly it is — but Senators recognise that this risks wholly extraneous factors becoming attached as conditions of the guarantee. Given the commercial character of the guarantee, it is important that the requirements be related to questions of stability, ethical standards and transparency and not to the lending and borrowing practices of the institution in its day to day work with customers. For those reasons I cannot accept the amendment.