Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister. The Central Bank also published a report about SME debt recently which showed that 26% of SME loans by number and 41% by value were in arrears. This is in spite of the figures the Minister has just quoted to the effect that 90% of Bank of Ireland and 65% of AIB distressed SME loans have been resolved.

The issue for the Central Bank is still hugely significant, in particular the overhang in employment prospects. If SME owners are dealing with that, they cannot expand their businesses and they will not expand employment while the issue hangs there. We see some very high-profile, large business people getting significant debt writedowns whereas small SMEs - the Minister and I deal with them every day - are being put through the wringer. I dealt with a case on Monday of somebody with a relatively small distressed loan who had been put through 15 months of a wringer. When one goes through the file, one sees the delaying tactics being employed by one of the pillar banks. It is ridiculous. There is nowhere for that person to go because the person does not want to distress the relationship with the bank.

We still have a problem if we take the figures of 26% of SME loans by number and 41% by value. What value of Bank of Ireland and AIB loans were resolved under the resolution process that the Minister laid out?

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