Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Finance the extent to which he has had discussions with the lending agencies here with a view to ensuring the ready availability of adequate working capital to the industrial, commercial and retail sectors with particular reference to the need to ensure that overdraft and/or working capital facilities are made available in a way to retain and expand various components of the sectors thereby contributing to national economic recovery; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10591/13]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Finance the extent to which he receives regular communication from the banking sector with regard to the responsibility of the lending institutions to meet the credit requirements of business; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10925/13]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 68 and 100 together.

The Government recognises that SMEs are the lifeblood of the economy and will play a vital role in the recovery of employment growth in our country. One of the key priorities of the Programme for Government is to ensure that an adequate pool of credit is available to fund SMEs in the real economy during the restructuring and downsizing programme.

As I informed the Deputy in my reply to his questions reference numbers 1982, 2199 and 2200 answered on 17 January, the banks meet with the Department of Finance and the Credit Review Office on a quarterly basis to discuss progress in relation to SME lending. The monthly management meetings with the pillar banks also provide a forum for the issue of SME lending to be raised by the Department.

The pillar banks report to my Department and to the Credit Review Office on credit on a sectoral basis but this is commercially sensitive information and I am not in a position to release it. In his tenth quarterly report published on 11 February, the Credit Reviewer said “I have observed no geographic region or trade sector being relatively adversely affected by this contraction in these two banks.”

In addition, the Economic Management Council meets the banks on a regular basis and discusses the key issues pertaining to SME credit. Separately I have met the Boards of the pillar banks twice since the start of this year.

I have emphasised the importance of access to credit for SMEs and the need for an adequate flow of finance to be available to viable small businesses in Ireland in these meetings.