John Kelly (Labour)

I wish to raise an important issue relating to a telephone call I received last night from a business man who is a wholesaler. Last week he called to two businesses that were closed down and had "For Sale" signs on them. My constituent was owed €24,000 by one business and €27,000 by the other. By virtue of the fact that the banks were not lending to the businesses the Revenue Commissioners shut them down. They had a fire sale of the assets and the stock in the shop and €30,000 worth of stock was sold off for €4,000. My constituent has no way of retrieving the €51,000 he is owed by both of those creditors. The businesses are for sale and the banks are indebted to the tune of €400,000. The banks are seeking to recoup €200,000. The man still has no way of getting his money at this stage to keep himself afloat. He employs four people. If he has to lay them off it will cost the taxpayer a further €80,000. It is similar to what Senator Healy Eames said about the banks and the way the Revenue Commissioners do their business. They are now threatening the viability of businesses themselves in a quest to ensure they get their money. I call on the Leader to invite the Minister to the House to address such issues. Unless we do our business differently we will close down small businesses. The likes of this should not be allowed to happen.