Róisín Garvey (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House and I welcome this important Bill. It is important that people know about it and what it means to them. It will mean we can extend the loan scheme to small businesses, farmers and fishers. It extends the loan guarantee period to at least 2022. It is being rushed through because of the advice from the Attorney General that we need to complete this before the end of June in order that businesses can access it. It is focused on helping who have been dealing with Brexit in particular. I always favour anything that helps the small to medium enterprise sector and of particular interest to me are primary producers, of which there are many in my county and many other rural counties, as well as anything to help farming and fishing communities, which are struggling.

There will be need for clarity on the maximum interest rate, which might encourage people to take on the loans. It is important that the Government supports credit unions in this too. I have spoken here on that before. They know communities and small businesses best. Their service is probably better than that given by most big banks, unfortunately, now that more and more banks are closing down and switching to services by machines instead of personal service. I welcome the Bill but seek clarity on interest rates and a commitment that the credit unions be part of the roll-out.