Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

Deputy Perry asked on the question of bank guarantee schemes and whether a guarantee can be given to small lenders. What I say to him and to Deputy O'Mahony is that the Credit Review Office deals with appeals in regard to traders and has power to issue directions to banks in regard to the cancelling of overdraft facilities for small businesses. As to whether there should be a wider guarantee scheme, which is what Deputy Perry has advocated, we must remember that the cause of a great deal of our difficulty has been reckless lending. Any scheme that is designed to extend guaranteed credit to small business must ensure this risk is not repeated.

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