Mr. Felix O'Regan:

Deputy Áine Collins asked about MFI and linking in with the banking sector, in addition to the low-cost funding which we, together with the Exchequer, will finance. We are working to ensure there will be a system of referral from the banking system into MFI, the idea being that cases that do not meet standard conventional bank lending criteria from the microfinance area would be referred to MFI. It is important the banks do not send those applicants away but that they refer them to the local county enterprise boards and then to the MFI process.

Even if they do not get MFI funding at that stage, they are still free to appeal their original bank application to the Credit Review Office.