Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

In the past three years, I have highlighted at committee level and in this Chamber the plight of functioning businesses that are in debt distress. A large number of other commentators, including Morgan Kelly, have indicated the difficulties that SMEs around the country are experiencing with mortgage distress and what this is doing to the economy. The issue of debt distress is enormous. It is of iceberg proportions. For every bit we see, there are nine or ten more companies in this country under the surface dealing with debt distress. We are seeing functioning businesses being closed every week and hundreds of other businesses having their investment or spend literally paralysed with the result that they have a millstone of debt around their necks. It is a significant brake on the economy. The growth rates the Government is forecasting will not happen unless it deals with this issue. The problem lies with the Government's priorities. The banks are the Holy Grail of Government policy and the rest can get stuffed.

Morrissey Quarry is a medium-sized business in Carlow with 130 staff on its books. It pays an annual wage bill of €5 million into the local economies, €500,000 in rates and hundreds of thousands of euro in vehicle and fuel taxes. It is a functioning firm and as has been noted, it has contracts worth millions of euro on its books waiting to delivered upon. It is in trouble because of a number of acquisitions it made in the noughties and because it is at the end of a line of credit where other creditors have refused to pay it the necessary funds as well. The workers need to know what the Government will do to make sure that a functioning business can be allowed to restructure its loans in a situation where it can be nurtured out of this debt. What will it do to ensure these businesses can remain in place, delivering their services properly, keeping these people employed and paying their debts in the long run? What will the Minister do?

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