Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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By and large, the €150 million is committed at this stage. The idea of the €25 million, which is part State-funded and part EU-funded, was that it would ensure that overall pot of €150 million over six years and it provided the basis on which the lower interest rate could be had from the banks. When the SBCI loan was announced at €150 million, my expectation was that this would mean there would be €150 million of potential credit in the system for up to six years, although people would obviously be paying it back over that period. Let us say that all of the loans are approved and that there is €150 million in the system and that €50 million of this is lent for one year only, then by the time the second year arrives, there will be only €100 million of loans in the system. Obviously, money will be paid back over time, for example, by the third year if some of it is lent for a three-year term. That is my point. My understanding was that the structure of the loan was such that it allowed for six years. If it is the case that a certain amount was budgeted in that way and if a certain amount of it is just one-year, two-year or three-year finance, can that then re-enter the system and can it be re-lent by the banks under this SBCI scheme? This would mean that any money lent for a one-year term could potentially be re-lent for up to five years to somebody else. Otherwise, the loan is diluted and is not of as much value to the farming community as it had appeared to be when it was initially launched.