Feargal Quinn (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister and the Bill. I thank the Minister for facilitating a briefing session with his officials this morning. I found the session extremely useful in that we had the opportunity to put some of the queries we had about the legislation to the officials.

One of the queries I have about the Bill relates to whether it targets start-ups. I accept that it is targeting successful businesses. Any lender will consider the position of an existing and successful business and lend money to it. What we need to do, however, is encourage start-ups. I am not sure how we will do this, but I would like to rest assured that we have the means at our disposal to measure what is required.

SMEs claim that they were not made aware of the schemes introduced on previous occasions. To what extent can we make them aware of the schemes available, particularly that being established under the Bill? Would it be possible to provide a simple online facility by which they might check what is happening? I am sure there are plans to provide such a facility and it would be a wise move.

Another matter which arises relates to the need for transparency. Private banks received money in the past, but was it always passed on?

How do we ensure this time that the money will be passed on to those who need it? In this case, I am arguing strongly for start-ups rather that existing businesses because they are already successfully getting money comparatively easy. Will a deadline in respect of the time within which a decision must be made be imposed or will people be left hanging on endlessly awaiting a decision, which appears to be one of the difficulties in this area? Some years ago, I was involved in setting up a bank which did not succeed. However, one of our ambitions at that time was to ensure that when a person came into the supermarket and applied for a loan he or she would know before reaching the check-out whether the loan had been approved. This was an attempt to copy what was being successfully done in America. However, it did not succeed.

Will this money be available for use by credit unions or is that out of the question? I note this was not mentioned in the Minister's speech. Perhaps there is no room for the credit unions to get involved in this area. Perhaps also they do not need this money. In regard to credit, I believe we can do even more with AVCs. I was very happy when the Minister made the decision to allow people access to some of their pensions and additional voluntary contributions. This is a way of releasing cash into the economy which, in turn, helps people and businesses to survive. Anecdotally, it appears to have been a massive success, in respect of which I congratulate the Minister. Could consideration be given to extending this initiative? I suggest this on the basis of Denmark having allowed people access to their pensions and thereby boosted its GDP by 1% to 2%. Imagine the effect if we could do that here. I would welcome if the Minister could consider this. I note there was also no mention by the Minister of crowd funding. Perhaps it does not arise in this context. I am an enthusiast for crowd funding. There are some great stories of business start-ups on that basis.

Setting up a business in Ireland is difficult in terms of the amount of time and effort involved in visiting the many places required in this regard. In New Zealand, this can be done all in one day via a website. I would like to encourage this practice. I believe it would be a step in the right direction. The aim of what is proposed should be to encourage start-ups rather than assist existing successful businesses. I believe what is proposed will be successful if focused in that area.