David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

That will not be happening. I thank Mr. Moran for coming in and for his opening statement and the supporting documentation he sent. He is right to say that he and his organisation cannot be defenders of every battle and that he has to almost ruthlessly single out the supports which are necessary for SMEs. That is a reasonable position for him to take. He will understand, however, that as politicians we have to have a wider view and that it is like a jigsaw; there are many different pieces to all the issues that make up the overall solution. I want to focus on some of those supports needed for SMEs but, equally, I want to touch on issues like regional development as part of the solution and also the quid pro quo, which I believe would be necessary. If the State is being asked to invest billions of euro in the SME sector, and I believe it should support it, there are obvious quid pro quosthat would be necessary coming back from that sector as well.

My first question is to follow up on the logic of the questions put by the previous speaker. Mr. Moran said in his opening statement that we cannot be afraid to spend this money. I agree. That is the overall package that he believes is necessary for the SME sector. He said earlier that there may have been a misunderstanding of the scale of the problem in the Department. That is not the first time that has happened. As Mr. Moran pointed out, we had the banking crisis. It does not paint a rosy picture of the Department of Finance if it keeps getting the responses wrong to the crises the country faces, but I do not believe it is as simple as that. Mr. Moran has some experience. He is a former Secretary General in the Department. To be fair, I am not sure that if he was still the Secretary General he would be saying exactly what he said in his opening statement but he is here now wearing a different hat, and I understand that. Is it not the case that there is almost a fear of radical action and of putting in place the solutions that are necessary? If we look at some of the loan schemes, for example, they are existing schemes. We are tinkering around with schemes rather than making the quick decision which needs to be made - SMEs need liquidity, and they need it fast. Leaving aside the political for a second, what is the problem with the thinking in the Department that it does not allow it make these very quick decisions to respond to the type of crises SMEs are now facing?