Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)

There are 180,000 micro-businesses in the country, some of which employ up to ten people. The European Investment Fund programme has been open for tenders on its website since last March. How much of the funding has the Government drawn down to date? This is a serious consideration and the failure to answer the question shows a deep disrespect for the 180,000 businesses mentioned, of which ISME estimates 50% are struggling to secure finance. The world and its mother knows that credit is frozen and that this is damaging the economy. I want to know how much has been drawn down to date.

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