Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Deputy for this opportunity to pay tribute to the Minister for Finance for all the initiatives he has taken. I indicated that this matter would be brought to the Cabinet and it was brought to it in July without any fanfare. The decision at Cabinet was that we would be given a mandate to work with the Department of Finance and the Credit Reviewer to examine the possibility of introducing a loan guarantee scheme. Meetings on that are ongoing and the last meeting with my officials, the Credit Reviewer and Department of Finance officials took place last Monday.

It is important to point out matters, which the Deputy skimmed over, namely, that we have recapitalised the banks and have assured SME businesses there will be €12 billion available to them by way of credit. All the Ministers of State present went on a roadshow to meet SMEs around the country, get feedback and interact with the banks, and that has been done. We are delighted there has been an improvement in the overall position.

The Minister for Finance put in place a Credit Review Office to examine the operation of the banks, ensure they are lending to SMEs and to report back on a regular basis. The Minister has also put a statutory code in place. The Department of Finance and the Minister are understandably concerned to ensure that the banks must not be left off the hook and I agree wholeheartedly with the Minister on that matter.

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