Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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163. To ask the Minister for Finance if he will detail the occasions when he has raised directly with the banks their failure to deal with lending to the small and medium enterprise sector; and if he has provided advice to the economic management group to direct the banks to increase lending to SMEs. [18611/13]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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302. To ask the Minister for Finance the extent to which he continues to receive on-going reports from the lending sector with regard to the responsibility of the lending institutions to meet the credit requirements of businesses; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24397/13]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 163 and 302 together.

The pillar banks are required to submit their lending plans to the Department and the Credit Review Office (CRO) at the beginning of each year, outlining how they intend to achieve their lending targets. The banks have submitted their lending plans for 2013 to my Department. My Department, in conjunction with the CRO, has analysed the plans and has met with the banks to discuss them. The banks also meet with the Department of Finance and the CRO on a quarterly basis to discuss progress. 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 Economic Management Council meets the banks on a regular basis and discusses the key issues pertaining to SME credit. I should stress that the interaction which EMC and the Government have with the banks is governed by the Relationship Frameworks, precluding the State from intervening in the day-to-day operations of the banks or their management decisions including with respect to pricing and lending decisions. These frameworks are published on my Department’s website at http://banking.finance.gov.ie/presentations-and-latest-documents/ .

I have met the boards of each of the pillar banks twice since the start of this year. At these meetings, 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.