Donie Cassidy (Fianna Fail)

Senators Fitzgerald, Coghlan, Regan, Hannigan, Donohoe, Callely, Quinn, Ó Brolcháin, Hanafin and McCarthy all expressed their disappointment about the 750 job losses at Bank of Scotland. The facts about the Bank of Scotland are that it is not covered under the guarantee scheme and it is retaining its commercial and business division, which is enormous and comprises 850 jobs. It is a huge lender in the commercial and business sector. We would not want to overlook the enormous contribution Bank of Scotland has played and is playing in meeting its day-to-day requirements to the small and medium-sized businesses which went to it and were able to secure loans at a reasonable interest rate. The tragedy from the mortgage holder's perspective — taking into account the more than 40 outlets it acquired, in the main from the ESB — is that the bank is a major player in the market. The consumer benefits when there are many major players looking for a share in the market. I acknowledge the continued presence of Bank of Scotland (Ireland) in the commercial and business sector and hope it will continue to prosper, grow and be a major player which will assist small, medium and family businesses which it has been connected with for a number of years.

Various views were expressed by Senators on equating us with Greece. As we all know, the Government has been a shining example for our fellow member states, Greece, Spain and Portugal, on what needs to be done to tackle difficult problems.