Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)

It was reported yesterday that the three main Irish banks have negotiated an allocation of €300 million from the European Investment Bank for the purpose of providing credit to small and medium-sized enterprises and that this money is likely to be introduced into the system over the next 18 months. This allocation merely represents the tip of the iceberg. Some €30 billion is available but it has taken the banks six months to get €300 million.

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