Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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82. To ask the Minister for Finance the incentives currently available to encourage small business with particular reference to access to credit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37583/14]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The Government recognises that small businesses play a central role in the sustainable recovery of the Irish economy. To facilitate this, Government policy is focused on ensuring that all viable SMEs have access to an appropriate supply of credit from a diverse range of bank and non-bank sources. My Department has been involved in a range of initiatives to encourage access to credit for small business, and the establishment of the SME State Bodies Group has also provided a forum where this issue is discussed and policy options explored on a regular basis.

The following is an overview of the main policies introduced by this Government to encourage access to credit for small business:

- With over €2bn of Government supports available to small business in Ireland from over twenty Departments and Agencies, it is vital that SMEs can quickly access information on this range of supports available to them. With this in mind, the Supporting SMEs Online Tool, a cross-government initiative, was launched in May 2014. On answering 8 simple questions, the small business will receive a list of available Government supports. In the  four months since its launch, this website has had over 17,000 unique visits. The Supporting SMEs Online Tool is available at .

- The Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI) has been established by the Government as a means of ensuring that SMEs in Ireland are provided with sufficient finance for growth. As the Deputy will be aware, the legislation enabling the establishment of the SBCI was passed by the Oireachtas prior to the Summer recess and the SBCI was incorporated as a company in September. The company is already operational with the immediate priorities being the finalisation of the funding arrangements for the company and establishing mechanisms to enable credit to flow quickly to the small business sector.  This work is well advanced. Loan agreements with the international funders, KfW and the European Investment Bank, will be signed in the coming weeks. Following that, the SBCI will agree lending terms with traditional bank lenders and new credit providers from beyond the traditional bank sector allowing for the distribution of SBCI funding to the SME sector in Ireland on a prudent basis.  I anticipate that the first SBCI funded loans to SMEs should be available for disbursement before the end of this year.

- Another important initiative stemming from the work of the SME State Bodies Group is the "Finance4Growth" programme offered by Managementworks. This provides participants with access to an SME finance expert who will explain the different sources of finance available, guide them as to which would be most relevant to their business, and advise on how banks, investors and agencies make their decisions. This mentoring is free, and there is also an option to avail of a one-day finance workshop and a further two hours of mentoring for a small fee. It is important that businesses seeking finance are equipped with as much expertise as possible to ensure that they can provide lending institutions with strong evidence that they have strong repayment capacity and this programme provides them with exactly that.

- The Credit Guarantee Scheme encourages additional lending to small businesses by offering a partial Government guarantee to banks against losses on qualifying loans to eligible SMEs. My colleague the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation will shortly bring legislation to the Oireachtas which should broaden the scope of the scheme to encourage higher utilisation.

- The Microenterprise Loan Fund, administered by Microfinance Ireland, provides loans of up to €25,000 to small businesses who have been refused credit by commercial banks. Microfinance Ireland works in partnership with the Local Enterprise Offices  nationally to administer this fund. 

The Government remains committed to the SME sector and sees it as the key engine of ongoing economic growth.  Consequently the Department of Finance, working with the other relevant Departments and Agencies, will continue to monitor the availability of both bank and non-bank credit with a view to taking appropriate actions as warranted to ensure that SMEs in Ireland have the opportunity to reach their full potential in terms of growth and employment generation.