Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The problem is that the 2% premium is part of the reason this scheme has not been successful so far. Credit is already too expensive for small businesses out there. When one is operating on low margins and running very tight cash flow levels, 2% is a significant difference in terms of credit. In a mortgage situation for example, any family who pays 5.3% will know the difference on their monthly repayments to a family who pays 3.3%. I do not understand why the Government is taking a very minimalist approach to providing a line of credit to a small business. I want to make sure that everybody is covered with regard to costs and that nobody gets stung with the premium rate.