Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Recent commentary from the ESRI and the ISME bank watch survey have been damning of the Minister's record on the provision of credit for small companies. A majority of SMEs are still desperately struggling with this problem and the Minister does not seem to have been able to target them. At the end of the day, the disastrous fiscal austerity programme of this Government is a key factor. Levels of demand are depressed. One only has to visit retailers in the jewellery and grocery sectors, and other retail developments, to see that demand is totally depressed after five and a half years of the macroeconomic madness in which we have been engaged. What is the Minister's Department doing in this area? The overall macroeconomic policy is damning in terms of demand.

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