Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Taking the last question first, the Government is absolutely committed to SMEs, responsibility for which belongs to the Minister of State, Deputy John Perry. Under the Horizon 2020 framework, for which the Minister of State, Deputy Sean Sherlock, is responsible, we are upping the target this year to 20%. We recognise that the future for Ireland is in developing an indigenous enterprise culture and a robust innovative capacity. Much of our work under the action plan for jobs initiatives has been about easing the pressures facing small indigenous business through the provision, for example, of access to finance, supports for companies and innovation, the move to trade online and other types of opportunities which allow businesses to thrive in a very challenging environment. It is important to emphasise that this is not an either-or situation. It is not a question of saying we do not want foreign investment. Such investment is essential, but we also want to build strong clusters which comprise both international firms and vibrant indigenous businesses. That is the objective and we are working to ensure it happens.

I would like to develop the credit guarantee scheme further. It is important to bear in mind that it operates at the point of sale, that is, it is administered through the banks. There is an issue of getting that message across so that more people who are refused funding will consider it and more bankers will consider it as an option for their clients. We are working with the banks to deliver that more effectively on the ground. We are also preparing a review of the scheme. Like the micro-finance fund and the development capital scheme, it is a new initiative which will require tweaking as we go along. We are committed to introducing innovative funding mechanisms. The bottom line is that the retreat of banking from risk-taking will not end today or tomorrow. It is happening throughout Europe, not just in programme countries like Ireland. In that context, there is a requirement to develop new instruments.

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