Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State and his officials. I am grateful for the opportunity to speak on the Credit Guarantee (Amendment) Bill 2015. I warmly welcome the debate as it gives us all a chance to deal with the whole issue of finance and the urgent need to support our SMEs. By support, I mean sensible, practical support and new ideas and proposals to develop the sector which is already making a huge contribution to Irish society and the economy. I agree strongly with my colleague, Deputy Peader Tóibín, on his sensible proposal on a public banking system. It is used in other countries like Germany and it brings an extra dimension to the table. Public banking would be a very significant and positive development. It is something we should look at and listen to carefully. We regularly hear the Government say there are no ideas coming from the Opposition. If it listened carefully, it would hear lots of sensible ideas, some of which we have heard in today's debate.

A commonly cited concern in recent years has centred on the lack of sufficient credit for enterprise. Business largely depends on enterprises with viable futures having access to finance. AIB and Bank of Ireland were committed to providing €12 billion in SME lending over the period April 2010 to April 2012. These two banks were required to sanction lending of at least €3 billion in 2011, €3.5 billion in 2012 and €4 billion in 2013 for new or increased credit facilities for SMEs. Formal lending sanctions were discontinued at the beginning of 2014 but the lending performance of the two pillar banks is monitored by the Credit Review Office on behalf of the Department of Finance. Lending figures for both banks show that at least €11 billion was sanctioned last year, of which 40% was new lending. That is the background to what is going on.

The big issue is the need for focus in developing new strategies and ideas as to how the State is going to support the SME sector. This is central to fostering economic growth and job creation. The Department of Finance has increased the number of economists by just one in four years despite an independent report which highlighted the need to double the number of economists in the Department from 39 to 78. I would like the Minister of State to provide the House with an update on that. There was a total failure to respond to market warnings before the economic collapse. We must ensure that we are prepared for this in future. One in ten of its civil servants are qualified economists. I highlight this because we are talking about development, finance, guarantees and legislation like the Bill before the House and must ensure the stability of our banking system. We must ensure that our regulatory regime is effective. A further key issue is the sustainability of our public finances. Next year, economic growth rates will be between 4% and 5%, which I welcome. It is important to have a sustainable economy to ensure that resources can be distributed to the people, particularly in the weaker sections of society.

We must ensure that SMEs know what is on offer. I have been amazed at the lack of information out there. In my constituency of Dublin Bay North, which the Minister of State knows is a beautiful place, we gave out in the region of 30,000 leaflets on starting up or expanding a business. We put a number of proposals on that leaflet and got a fantastic response. The biggest response from people on the ground was to say that a lot of people did not know about some of the facilities that are available. We organised a public meeting in the Marine Hotel in Sutton and Independent Senator Feargal Quinn was one of my guest speakers.

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