Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael)

Gabh mo leithscéal. I would like to see Sinn Féin being positive when it comes to trying to invest in the economy and SMEs. I am somewhat outraged because, truly, we need to look at every measure that will help our SMEs continue, as Senator Harte said, to be the lifeblood of our economy.

I recently did an interview on this Bill in Galway and it was met with a lot of positivity. There are many positives to the Bill. It will help 1,800 businesses throughout the country and will facilitate an extra €115 million extra in lending per year, which, in turn, will put badly needed turnover into the economy. It will also help the banks get a bit of a lesson on who else they might be able to trust out there.

I am delighted with the company the Government has chosen to give the tender to because it has a great reputation. Capita Asset Services is part of Capita plc, which is a FTSE 100 company whose prime area business activity is the provision of business process outsourcing services. It currently employs over 1,200 staff in the Republic of Ireland and almost 1,800 across the island. I do not know it personally but, by the sound of it, the company has good experience in this area and will, hopefully, teach our banks a lesson or two in who to trust. Obviously, I would be the first to say we need to back viable propositions but, sometimes, people need to take a little bit of a risk as well. Let us face it, entrepreneurship is based on risk taking.

I have some questions for the Minister. First, if an SME is granted a loan under this scheme and then grows and requires more capital, can it apply for a second loan under this scheme? This should be clarified as growth of small businesses and the creation of jobs is the goal of the scheme, and to prevent growth of businesses would be a retrograde step. Second, could we clarify whether SMEs involved in horticulture, agriculture and fisheries are excluded from the scheme as they can also be small enterprises and SMEs in these industries also require help? Does the Minister of State have particular suggestions in this regard in the absence of them not being allowed into the scheme?

Third, will people who avail of this scheme be also able to avail of the upcoming microfinance loan fund or are they mutually exclusive? The fund, which will cap applicants at €25,000, will be very beneficial. I welcome the fact the Western Development Commission is providing €1 million of the money it has obtained from recycling loans for the very same purpose, namely, a microfinance loan fund through which it will give out loans to a maximum of €25,000. It is a positive move and it is not the end of the world. We should tell the banks, however, that we have had to do this because they did not step up to the plate. The banks should learn a lesson from this. It is great that the State is showing confidence in SMEs and valuing their importance by guaranteeing 75% of their loans. I presume that SMEs will get the guarantee from this company, then go to the bank and get the money. Is that how it will work?