Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I will ask the first two and then I will have another round. On page 3 there is a reference to the Covid credit guarantee scheme and the fact that it is the largest financial instrument in the history of the State. We know that it is being massively talked up by the Government as a €2 billion financial lifeline to struggling businesses. In my opinion, the scheme was delivered quite late, five months after similar schemes in other jurisdictions. While the €2 billion that is available is a large amount, only 128 loans have been approved with a total value of €6 million, which is less than 3%. Do the witnesses have a view on the reason businesses are not taking up this offer that was very much lauded? I will get a response to my first two questions.