Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the amendments proposed which will make this a far superior Bill to the one originally published. I hope it will have the impact we all desire. I commend the Minister of State for the work he has done on this issue since he took office.

I support Deputy Peadar Tóibín's amendment. The credit union movement is open for business and very keen to get involved in SME lending, in particular. Unfortunately, however, it is being rebuffed at every opportunity in being allowed to exploit its asset base and encourage its membership which is locally based to support locally rooted SMEs. The obstruction is in the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation but in the Department of Finance and the Office of the Financial Regulator. This is an opportunity to rebrand the scheme. The success of Microfinance Ireland since its reorganisation is a clear indication of the demand for small-scale SME lending. The credit union movement and crowd funders are ideally suited to meet that demand. Several crowd funders have made presentations to the joint committee. What could be done through this channel is phenomenal, particularly for new enterprises and start-up companies which are still finding it very difficult to obtain funding. Crowd funders are ideally situated and the inclusion of such funds would truly bring the Bill into the 21st century. We should partner with crowd funders and the credit union movement in the provision of SME funding. The credit union movement is very keen to get involved, but it is being rebuffed at every turn by the Government.