Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister for Defence to the House. The Government amendment is an excellent amendment. However, section 210(1) states, "The Minister may issue guidelines". I think this should use the word "shall" and I ask the Minister to consider that for Report Stage, because "shall" is more definite. We have had concerns about the word "may" previously and as Senator MacSharry has said, the Bill would be stronger if we used the word "shall", which is more definitive. The Government amendment inserting subsection (2) uses the phrase "shall cause a copy of guidelines" and does not use the word "may".

Senator O'Toole spoke about lending agencies and I would like to mention something of which he may not have been aware because he would not have been in the same position I was in 1971. I did not have access to a bank or building society for a loan and could only approach the local authority for a loan. My local authority was effective and well organised and gave loans to people with very little income, but got the money back. That is another side of the loan issue.

On the issue of the ACC and the ICC, I remember that in Newtowngore one time a former Fianna Fáil Minister intervened with the ACC bank to ensure a company was assisted in some way. There was, therefore, much direct political involvement in the ACC and the ICC, positive involvement as far as enterprise was concerned. There were excellent banks and it is a shame they were removed because they would be of great assistance now.

I do not know whether Anglo Irish Bank will be so compliant with Government directives or requests. There is a another section in the Bill on representations which we will go into further. However, there are other ways to raise money and most people in rural Ireland actually received their first loans from local authorities.