Dominic Hannigan (Meath East, Labour)

The credit guarantee scheme was a commitment in the programme for Government and I am glad to see we are now delivering it. We know it is not the silver bullet to fix all the problems faced by SMEs nor are we claiming it is. However, we are trying to make it easier for SMEs to survive and grow. Early this year, we introduced the action plan for jobs knowing one initiative is not enough. As Deputy Barry said, it takes more than just one measure to get the economy back on track. Our action plan for jobs listed 250 different actions which we are taking to improve the lot of small businesses. We have introduced in the first three months of this year 96% of the action points that we planned, and we are continuing to deliver on them. There will be another quarterly review by the end of June which I hope will show further progress has been made. The action plan is not sitting on a shelf gathering dust like many plans from previous Administrations.

We have all heard the stories of businesses trying to access credit and being refused. They are trying their hardest to make their business grow but are turned down by the banks. In 2010, one in every two applications for credit was turned down by the banks. It is more difficult to access credit in Ireland than in any other eurozone member state. We must make it easier for our businesses to get credit. I know how important access to credit is for a small business having started my small business in the 1990s. There are times when one needs a ready line of credit supply to enable the business grow, invest in new facilities or machinery and hire new staff. People with the drive and ambition to start a small business must be supported. A thriving small business in a community can make all the difference about how a community feels about itself. We have all seen towns where businesses have closed down, leaving buildings derelict, a reminder of previous Government policies which have not supported SMEs. In County Meath, where over 90% of businesses are SMEs employing up to nine people, this new credit scheme will be warmly welcomed and give many businesses the opportunity to develop and grow. I am very glad an Irish business won the tender for the oversight, management and operation of the scheme. When I was in Duleek recently, the issue of Irish companies getting Irish contracts came up; it was raised by a small business owner who was extremely concerned about the lack of Irish companies winning Government and council tenders. He was under the impression that this work was being given solely to companies outside the State. I know we are taking the issue seriously and I am glad the tendering process has made it easy for Irish companies to win contracts.

I look forward to the speedy passage of the Bill through the Houses in order that we can get the scheme working to assist small businesses and help people get back to work.

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