John Perry (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

They will not give money to non-viable businesses. Access to finance is a key issue for SMEs and is critical to long-term economic success. We have brought in the microfinance fund, the partial loan guarantee fund and there are private investors and other investors, but it is all about investing for a return.

Increasing access to credit is a priority that the Government is addressing in a comprehensive and co-ordinated manner. The initiatives taken by the Government to restructure and recapitalise the banking system are the principal response to make credit available as banks will continue to be the primary and dominant supplier of credit for SMEs. There are 23 million SMEs in Europe. I attended the competitiveness Council meeting during the past two days and the availability of credit is an issue in the UK and throughout Europe. Unfortunately, that is the legacy of the financial fallout.

The action plan for jobs also highlights the importance of access to finance for enterprise in Ireland. In particular, it advocates a proactive approach to the SME sector, which is fundamental to the future of Irish business, banking and the economy as a whole.

A range of national initiatives have been developed to support the flow of credit to enterprises. In addition to initiatives to recapitalise and restructure the banking sector, which taxpayers have done, we are examining a code of conduct for business lending to SMEs, which has been done, and we also established a simplified application for banking.

My Department has also taken action to address some specific market failures which will add value to the actions the Minister for Finance has taken. In particular, I refer to the two targeted schemes , the microfinance fund and partial loan guarantee scheme. In addition to these initiatives, the seed and venture capital scheme, Innovation Fund Ireland and the development capital scheme are also helping Irish companies. The other side of credit revolves around prompt payment and we have put in place a measure to address that, which is critical. The late payment legislation is a welcome mechanism.

It is important to ensure Ireland becomes a thriving innovative economy which is the best small country in which to do business, which is not easy. The Deputy knows that. He was in the job I was in. The recognition of the importance of and support for small business is vital to kick-start this economy. The Government is determined that we will restore confidence and the issue is about confidence, access to credit and getting people to believe in job creation. I travel from Donegal to Cork and meet people in enterprises every day of the week. All they want is to see a sense of confidence, and those people are extraordinarily confident. I attended the crafts fair in the RDS and the people I met there were not talking about doom and gloom. They were all getting on with their job, finding new markets, adopting new technologies and finding other mechanisms to get funding into their business.

I compliment the Government on its recognition of the role played by small business.

Turning the ship around takes some time, unfortunately, but this Government is determined to support the critical role of SMEs in this economy. The Taoiseach has the personal motivation and interest in ensuring that we recognise every business person as a real job creator. We do not create the jobs in this House. It is business people who create the jobs and we must create the environment that will encourage them to create jobs.

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