Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I recognise that it is an offence under law to make connection with NAMA but I again point out to the Deputy that I am sure that the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General is utterly independent in the way it does its business. The personnel from the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General serving on the board of NAMA are there for that purpose. NAMA operates under the aegis of Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General and reports to the independent watchdog in this Oireachtas, the Committee of Public Accounts, and can be invited to appear before the Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure to deal with cases like those referred to by the Deputy. I am not throwing the onus back on the Deputy. I am quite sure the Chairman of the Committee of Public Accounts will take note of what the Deputy has said here.

I do not agree with him that there is no access to finance for small and medium-sized enterprises. There is more access than ever before. The Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland has set up many opportunities to avail of access to credit that were not there before and this is resulting in many more companies being set up and employment heading in the right direction. I am sure that as an employer, the Deputy knows that.

The changes made by the Central Bank relating to the construction sector mean that builders must now put up 40% of the required funds instead of having 100% loans as applied previously and building on from the profit, resulting in a catastrophic situation, as happened under the previous Administration which brought the country over the cliff. The Minister for Finance has put together a number of opportunities where this matter can be addressed. Everyone understands that the supply side of housing, particularly in the greater Dublin area, is nothing like what it should be despite the fact that 20,000 more people are working in the construction sector. This needs to be greatly enhanced, which is why the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government was advising local authorities in respect of their strategic development plans that if they made it too restrictive, it would become difficult to provide the quantity of housing that is required. The Central Bank introduced changes for a good reason connected with what happened previously. Access to credit and availability of credit for small and medium-sized enterprises is greater than ever before and is yielding results in terms of increased employment.

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