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

The budget in this regard is in respect of losses that might be incurred. We have not budgeted for the lending by the banks. We have budgeted for losses which might have to be met. Crowd-funded financing is certainly worth looking at. I understand the scale at the moment would be tiny, however, and much tinier in any event than the credit guarantee scheme. While there is merit and the matter is being examined in the context of the review of various seed capital and other schemes by the Department of Finance and my Department, we need to see many different instruments. We have been too reliant on a very narrow range of banking products and need to see a broader range of instruments to support business start-up and growth. Crowd funding can have a place in that.

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