Jerry Buttimer (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Bill. I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Perry, to the House. Undoubtedly, the Minister of State, in his role as Minister with responsibility for business, and I use that word deliberately because he is a pro-business person, will have been informed by many businesses, as have many of us, that they are having difficulty accessing credit and that our banks are risk averse. In his contribution Deputy Ó Cuív referred to small steps. This is a significant step in that we are saying to people in business involved in creating employment that this Government is listening and wants to encourage and help the creation of access to credit and liquidity.

The language on the AIB small and medium enterprise business lending application form has changed in that it refers to three easy steps to applying for business lending which include arranging a meeting with one's relationship manager, completing the enclosed application form, and gathering any additional supporting documentation or information that may be required by the bank.

Our banks must work with employers. Deputy Mathews is correct. There are two sides to the economy. There is foreign direct investment and the indigenous economy. We must assist our local economy and our local employers.

This is a three year partial credit guarantee scheme providing €150 million, which is in addition to what the pillar banks supposedly will lend. It is a continuation of the programme for Government commitment, the action plan for jobs, the Minister's own proposals and the Voice of Small Business. Through his actions, words and office the Minister of State has lived up to his commitments. He is doing what it says on the tin and trying to deliver in a proactive manner. I wish him success because we need him to succeed.

Access to finance presents a major problem. The Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association, ISME, has provided figures from an internal survey which indicate that 50% of companies which had made applications for credit to banks in the previous three months were refused, that 91% of firms which had applied for funding believed the banks were making it more difficult to access finance and that 92% of respondents believed the Government was having either a negative or neutral effect on the availability of finance. I regret this is the case as businesses must have working capital and overdraft facilities to allow them to restructure and continue to trade and provide employment.

Many business people are afraid to apply for credit. People I meet in my clinics, while canvassing or at social occasions have told me they have returned home from their bank with a loan application form only to decide later not to bother submitting an application as they believed their bank would refuse them credit. When large numbers are deciding not to make loan applications, we must ask what we want the banks to do and what position should they be in five to ten years from now. According to a EUROSTAT survey, Ireland had the second largest decrease in the success rate of loan applications.

Deputy Eamon Ó Cúiv spoke about providing a stimulus for job creation. Long before President Hollande arrived on the scene, the Taoiseach spoke in this House and elsewhere about a stimulus, investment in job creation and making Ireland the best country in the world for small business. He has taken a consistent approach to this issue.

The Ceann Comhairle probably despairs with me at times but having listened to Deputies opposite refer to a stimulus and the sale of State assets, I must point out that they were absent without leave for 14 years, during which time they abandoned all regulation and principle. Some of them appear to have forgotten that the principle of collective responsibility applies to the Cabinet. While I share their concerns about the sale of State assets, it was the Fianna Fáil Party which sold off Telecom Éireann with wild abandon and to great glee, as most of us recall to our cost. They need only consider the position of Eircom now.

As someone who is concerned that we must not rush into a fire sale of State assets, I welcome the approach taken by the Ministers for Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputies Michael Noonan and Brendan Howlin, respectively. The latter made it clear on "Morning Ireland" earlier that we needed a stimulus and investment. Deputy Peter Mathews is correct that we must create jobs in the domestic economy and focus on indigenous employers and markets.

Foreign direct investors are awaiting the outcome of the referendum. I hope we will vote "Yes" in two weeks, as it would send a message to the world that we are open for business, in charge of our destiny, confident about restructuring and in a position to redeem ourselves across the world. If one contrasts Greece and Ireland, one finds that we are taking bold and imaginative initiatives, although I accept that people are paying a price for our efforts and there is, unfortunately, pain involved.

This morning the Select Committee on Health and Children, of which I am Chairman, approved an Estimate of €14 billion for the health service. Someone needs to explain to me how a country with a population of 4.5 million can spend €14 billion and end up with what some consider to be an inadequate health service.

It is imperative that a stimulus programme be introduced. Rather than frightening people, the banks must work with them and encourage and inculcate an entrepreneurial attitude. Having been a public servant for my entire working life, I have only lately converted to the view that entrepreneurs are vital to the development of the economy. The Bill is a small and important step that seeks to get credit moving in the economy and ensure the banks are open to working with people. As someone who has been critical of the banks, I was heartened by remarks made by the AIB chief executive at a briefing yesterday. Banks cannot operate in an ivory tower or expect people to flip-flop whenever they jump. Working with people does not only mean offering loans. They must do so in a spirit of partnership and provide rewards and encouragement.

While I am aware that the scheme provided for in the Bill will be subject to annual review, it would be preferable if it were assessed on an ongoing basis to allow us to tweak it, where necessary. We must get the domestic economy moving to allow businesses to develop. The credit guarantee scheme is necessary because the banks became dysfunctional when they failed to maintain a diverse business base and put all their eggs in one basket. I hope the legislation will help to develop a small and medium enterprise sector that will deliver a significant number of long-term sustainable jobs and become the lifeblood of the domestic economy as we face into a new type of economy.

Instead of the banks and the Government standing in the way of doing business and economic growth, they need collectively to change their behaviour and culture to facilitate expansion and growth. I welcome the Bill and commend the Minister of State, Deputy John Perry, for his approach. He may be quiet, but he is also a man of steel who will, in time, be seen to have played a key role in turning around the economy.

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