Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the comments made on the ongoing talks in Northern Ireland between the Taoiseach, the British Prime Minister and all parties. We are all hopeful that as the discussions continue they will reach a fruitful outcome. As the House will appreciate, it is the reason the Taoiseach is not here this afternoon to answer questions.

On the issue of lending capacity and access to working capital in particular, this is subject to ongoing discussion and I am acutely aware of it as Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment. I have been working closely with my colleague, the Minister for Finance, in this regard. Both the first and second Mazars reports have been helpful in looking at the lending capacity of the banks and what has been happening within business. I have had occasion to meet with the Governor of the Central Bank in order to have access to new agreed measures on how we may determine real lending.

The issue as to what type of real lending was being made to business was raised here in the House. That has been agreed between Forfás, the Department of Finance and I and we are looking at the issue of access to credit. A credit supply clearing group has been set up by my Department, and we are working through it, between business, IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland, county enterprise boards and the banking and lending people to determine how we may create openness and awareness about the needs of business. On that basis I have transferred personnel from Enterprise Ireland into the two major banks, Bank of Ireland and Allied Irish Banks, and this is working quite well. We are continuing to work and address the issue of access to working capital for people within business. In the context of the budget and NAMA a new appointment has been made to arbitrate on differences of opinion between the banking institutions and businesses who believe they are entitled to working capital.

I am not completely satisfied that the amount of working capital being made available is sufficient to furnish the needs of the business community. On that basis I am again working with the banks and the business community so that we may establish the absolute necessity for a change of attitude within the banks and move them away from their reliance heretofore on construction to an expertise on business so that they may take on board the need to take particular risks in the context of supporting people within business.

On the issue of recapitalisation of the banks, the Government would be more comfortable with access to funding from the private sector, but we are not in a position to make a final determination on the needs of banks as that matter has not been finalised by the Minister for Finance.

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