Michael Lowry (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

There is unease over the lack of transparency of this scheme. There is a strongly held view in financial lending circles of favouritism towards the pillar banks and that the conditions of eligibility to the fund are structured in order to suit the big established players in the market - a view that the existing terms and conditions and format are anti-competitive and have a detrimental impact on those lenders which cannot reach the unrealistic and unobtainable criteria set out in the scheme.

In view of the enormous sums of money involved, representatives of the SBCI should be given the opportunity to appear before the appropriate Oireachtas committee to ascertain what oversight, measurement or assessment of the operations of the fund have been conducted by the Department of Finance and to find out what benefit has accrued to the SME sector. What kind of return is evident in terms of stabilising troubled small companies, protecting jobs and enabling growth in job opportunities in the SME sector? We need a review to understand if the SBCI is delivering on its remit generally. Is the State getting value for the expensive administration overheads of the SBCI?

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