Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)

I heard what the Minister of State said about the last Government but the problem is that businesses starved of credit are worried about what this Government will do for them. Deputy John Perry is in government now and people are looking to the Government to do something to make financial institutions lend some of the capital stuffed into their coffers. The Minister of State said it is widely known that the figure for the micro-finance scheme will be €100 million. I note the refusal of the Minister of State to say how much will be guaranteed under the partial loan guarantee scheme but some of his civil servants, during the debate on Committee Stage, have mentioned a figure of €300 million-€400 million. For the end of March 2011, the amount of loans to SMEs outstanding in this country was €58.2 billion. This represents a decline of €7 billion over the course of the year. Can the Minister of State explain what impact a couple of hundred million euro will make in this situation? Does he agree that a more radical approach is needed?

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