Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)

-----in re-establishing their customer relationships and credibility. Banks are currently providing lending to businesses in the order of €32 billion.

However, it is not just being left to the banks to give assurances. There is close measurement of their performance in meeting lending targets, in disclosing their lending policies and in reviewing cases where credit has been refused to viable SMEs. The work of Mr. John Trethowan and the Credit Review Office is central to this process. The Opposition Members have made specific reference to the work of the Credit Review Office. While I accept there was no personal criticism of Mr. Trethowan there has been comment that the Credit Review Office is irrelevant and ineffective. This is an unfair comment and shows a lack of understanding of the Credit Review Office. The office is making a major contribution to dealing with the outflow of credit, not just in reviewing cases where credit has been refused but in reviewing bank lending policies and in driving the process of providing our businesses with a proper, professional banking service.

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