Results 4,961-4,980 of 11,114 for speaker:Damien English

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Access to Finance for SMEs (Resumed): Credit Review Office and Chambers Ireland (6 May 2014)

Damien English: The joint committee is now in public session. I welcome Mr. John Trethowan from the Credit Review Office to discuss access to finance for SMEs. I wish to advise the witnesses that by virtue of section 17(2)(l) of the Defamation Act 2009, witnesses are protected by absolute privilege in respect of their evidence to the committee. However, if a witness is directed by the committee to cease...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Access to Finance for SMEs (Resumed): Credit Review Office and Chambers Ireland (6 May 2014)

Damien English: It appears that members have not received this documentation.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Access to Finance for SMEs (Resumed): Credit Review Office and Chambers Ireland (6 May 2014)

Damien English: Mr. Trethowan stated the banks have enough safe business. Is this with regard to their own targets or targets which have been set for them?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Access to Finance for SMEs (Resumed): Credit Review Office and Chambers Ireland (6 May 2014)

Damien English: They came before the committee two weeks ago and made presentations. They acted as though they were very hungry for business and claimed they were eager to find new business and could not get enough of it. This is interesting.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Access to Finance for SMEs (Resumed): Credit Review Office and Chambers Ireland (6 May 2014)

Damien English: The office considers appeal cases and 45% of them are not sanctioned. What are the main reasons for the office to agree with a bank in such cases? Would poor applications be an issue? When the office recommends that a bank reconsiders a case, does it give advice to an applicant to do a business plan again or include more information? Is there an advisory role in this respect? I have...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Access to Finance for SMEs (Resumed): Credit Review Office and Chambers Ireland (6 May 2014)

Damien English: Yes, although I forget which one.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Access to Finance for SMEs (Resumed): Credit Review Office and Chambers Ireland (6 May 2014)

Damien English: In saying that, is advice given to the applicant to improve the application and resubmit it? What is the process?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Access to Finance for SMEs (Resumed): Credit Review Office and Chambers Ireland (6 May 2014)

Damien English: It is a hands-on process. It is not a desktop exercise.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Access to Finance for SMEs (Resumed): Credit Review Office and Chambers Ireland (6 May 2014)

Damien English: I thank Mr. Trethowan for coming today for a very useful discussion. We are considering the area of access to finance, including different methods of access to finance. We are examining dependence on traditional banking, as well as other methods. We hope to make a report on this in June or July, and we may feed back to the office in the meantime. I know we did not get the office's figures...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Access to Finance for SMEs (Resumed): Credit Review Office and Chambers Ireland (6 May 2014)

Damien English: I welcome Mr. Seán Murphy from Chambers Ireland, who will discuss access to finance for small and medium sized enterprises. I know he also wishes to discuss other issues, such as procurement etc., and we can do that at another meeting, if he so wishes. He will return in June. Before beginning the presentations I must go through the procedures. By virtue of section 17(2)(l) of the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Access to Finance for SMEs (Resumed): Credit Review Office and Chambers Ireland (6 May 2014)

Damien English: I thank Mr. Murphy for his clear and concise presentation. It matches up with what we hear from other organisations. The message is very clear. We will now have questions from members.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Access to Finance for SMEs (Resumed): Credit Review Office and Chambers Ireland (6 May 2014)

Damien English: In general, do businesses follow through on that point by requesting a late payment fee?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Access to Finance for SMEs (Resumed): Credit Review Office and Chambers Ireland (6 May 2014)

Damien English: I am glad Mr. Murphy has raised this aspect of the matter. It is not something that has come across our desks, as far as I am aware. It makes sense that one would not go chasing this fee. Perhaps one should. It is not really acting as the deterrent it is meant to be. It is a point well raised.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Access to Finance for SMEs (Resumed): Credit Review Office and Chambers Ireland (6 May 2014)

Damien English: The Minister’s private secretary was on to the committee recently to say that it is live-to-go.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Access to Finance for SMEs (Resumed): Credit Review Office and Chambers Ireland (6 May 2014)

Damien English: Yes, it has been two years in the making.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Access to Finance for SMEs (Resumed): Credit Review Office and Chambers Ireland (6 May 2014)

Damien English: The point is that even though it might be a good proposal, one still has to sell it and get the word out.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Access to Finance for SMEs (Resumed): Credit Review Office and Chambers Ireland (6 May 2014)

Damien English: Mr. Murphy has covered nearly everything. Aside from the Government schemes, is the cost of credit to business an issue in comparison with our neighbouring countries or are we okay on that? Is the issue raised with Chambers Ireland?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Access to Finance for SMEs (Resumed): Credit Review Office and Chambers Ireland (6 May 2014)

Damien English: Does it affect growth?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Access to Finance for SMEs (Resumed): Credit Review Office and Chambers Ireland (6 May 2014)

Damien English: It has not been raised here during this debate, which is confusing me because I thought it would be raised.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Access to Finance for SMEs (Resumed): Credit Review Office and Chambers Ireland (6 May 2014)

Damien English: We should address the issue.