Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I want to ask about proposed legislation for the strategic banking corporation of Ireland which the Minister announced last week. What is proposed is not the strategic investment bank that was promised in the programme for Government three years ago. This new institution will lend money to existing banks rather than directly to SMEs, and there are concerns that the banks will only use the funding to be provided by the strategic banking corporation for their own purposes and not for improving the provision of credit to small and medium enterprises. What safeguards will the Minister introduce to ensure funding can get through to the smaller businesses that are most hard-pressed?

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