Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)

When will the legislation be published and passed? When will the scheme come into place? Is there a possibility that the banks are waiting for this scheme rather than operating their normal lending schemes at the moment? The Credit Reviewer recently said he was sceptical about this being a cure-all and that the guarantee would need to proceed on an individual basis, requiring each application to be considered on its own merits, which is exactly what is supposed to happen when a businessperson seeks a business loan. Does the Minister of State have confidence in the banks lending? We packed them full of money in order for them to lend to productive businesses. All the evidence suggests that is not happening. We own half of these - we certainly own the bulk of AIB and a significant amount of Bank of Ireland which would be the primary banks.

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