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

This continues to be a central concern for me, as it does also for the Deputy. I monitor the new lending figures by sector as well as the refusal rates which thankfully have shown some signs of improvement. I also monitor the decisions of the Companies Registration Office and the picture remains one whereby the banks have not properly adjusted to their role in supporting SMEs. They still have a long way to go in this area. We continue to press them and I meet with them regularly. We seek to drive up the use of alternative funding mechanisms, as well as seeing them build up sectoral expertise so they can have a genuine relationship with management sectors in a growth phase. I agree with the Deputy that we need to do better in this area and we will continue to press for that.

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