Yesterday I attended a briefing hosted by the Public Banking Forum of Ireland. Its analysis demonstrated that Irish commercial banks, which are so-called pillar banks, hold a market share of roughly 95% of the Irish market while their German counterparts, commercial banks which include Deutsche Bank and others, hold a mere 12.5% share of the German banking market. That might be little to worry about if the banks in this State did not insist on maintaining their stranglehold on the creation of credit and insist on operating from principles directly opposed to the public and the common good.

Serious concerns are now being raised about the completely dysfunctional nature of our banks and the blasé attitude of the Central Bank and, indeed, senior Department of Finance officials. They are simply not working and when is the Government going to wake up to this? Why, for example, do privately owned commercial banks hold a monopoly on credit creation? Why do these same banks also have monopoly control over the repayments systems? These are structural issues that further subordinate our credit unions and post offices and make it almost impossible for them to expand their range of activities. One of the most serious questions, however, is why Irish SMEs and small family businesses have to pay Irish banks almost double or treble the average European interest rates, which are 2% in Germany and 6% to 7% here. If a person is pushed onto an overdraft, which many are, it is up to 15% or 16%.

What has happened to the European Single Market? Where are our friends?

Is it any wonder that Prime Minister May has pulled the trigger today on Article 50 and we have Brexit? Why have successive Irish Governments discriminated against the credit unions and post offices through a host of restrictions on the products and services they can offer? It is happening even today. We are told that we can apply for passports online, which takes away business from the post offices as well.

During the talks on the programme for Government, my Rural Independent Group colleagues and I insisted that there be a commitment to examine the possibility of introducing a public banking model in Ireland. So far, there has been only lip-service and total inaction by the Government. The Minister is not Taoiseach yet, as Deputy Micheál Martin said, but he is one of the senior Ministers and he has done nothing about it only rub his hands with glee. ISME has stated that access to finance and credit is among the top three concerns for SMEs. It has done untold damage to the real economy every day of the week and is creating absolute torture for small businesses, farm families and all of the individuals with mortgages who simply cannot get access to credit or increase their cash flows. As I said, interest rates in Germany are at 2% but in Ireland are at 5%, 6% or 7%.

The banking model in this State needs a root-and-branch reform. The good people who produced yesterday's report made a good stab at this. I really appreciate that. They are volunteers and not paid officials of the Department or of anybody else or hired guns. We simply cannot allow the punitive monopoly of the pillar banks to continue. Will the Minister commit to introducing the public banking model along the lines of those that operate to the huge benefit of communities in Germany, Europe's largest economy, where public banking and community banks have a 70% market share?

What I do agree with the Deputy on is that we need more competition in Irish banking. The Government is very clear that we want to see very healthy competition between Irish and international banks within our jurisdiction to ensure that credit is offered at competitive prices to businesses, farmers and to small and large companies that need it. What I disagree strongly with the Deputy on is that this is the fault of the European Union. It appears to me that one of the reasons the European Union is in the difficulty it has been in is because it is blamed for issues that it has little to do with. We need to see more competition within our banking market. The Government is looking at all options for this. Alongside this, we are also supporting our pillar banks in putting in place measures that allow them to be able to make credit available to Irish companies at more competitive rates. This is why we have had intervention, for example, through the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, ISIF, which has worked with Irish pillar banks to come up with models whereby the State can play a role in facilitating lower rates of interest to Irish companies that need credit to allow them to compete at home and abroad. That work is under way.

I have not seen the report that the Deputy has referred to, but I would be more than happy to have a look at it and see what considerations or recommendations might be implemented. We need more competition within our market and more banks that are able to compete to ensure that better services are offered to Irish consumers and companies.

The Minister and the Government are in charge. His Ministry was part of the favourite four during the previous Government's term. They are in charge of the banks and lending. Small farmers and self-employed builders who want to build houses for the housing crisis cannot get a bob - not a shilling. They are not working. We need banks that are community focused and financially viable. We put €69 billion into the banks. What did we get back? Two fingers every day of the week. They are not lending a penny. The Minister, the Minister for Finance, senior officials and the Central Bank are in charge. They are allowing the banks to absolutely run riot and to terrorise and torture people who, by their sweat and blood, had €69 billion taken off them and continued to be taken off them. We get sweet - I will not say what I should say - off them in return. It is not funny. It is so serious. The Minister said that he is not aware of the problems. A blind person could see the problems. The banks are not working, they are not lending and they have aggressive policies of hauling people before the courts where there are willing and able county registrars. It is a whole charade of terrorising people, creating sickness, suicide and, God knows, a trail of destruction. It is time the Minister woke up and smelt the coffee, or he will never be Taoiseach.

I never said in my response to the Deputy that I was not aware of any difficulties. Of course I am aware of the difficulties and problems that our citizens and companies face. I was very clear, however, in outlining what I believe to be the best approach to it, which the Government is in the process of implementing. That involves proper competition within our banking market to ensure that there is a variety of services available to consumers and companies and the Government playing an interventionist role, where necessary, to support pillar banks to make credit available to Irish companies at a competitive price.

They are codding the Government all the way.

We have done that and it is under way. We will not be undermining the role of the Central Bank. The Central Bank is an independent organisation-----

It is in control.

-----that is at the heart of being able to regulate our banking sector.

FA.

We have all seen, to our great cost, what happens when that regulation is not in place and not implemented. The Government remains fully committed to putting in place measures to regain as much as possible of all of the investment that was put in place to support our pillar banks.