Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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67. To ask the Minister for Finance the extent to which lending requirements to small and medium enterprises has been met by each of the main lenders on a monthly basis over the past 12 months; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42362/14]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The Government imposed SME lending targets on the two main domestic banks for the three calendar years, 2011 to 2013. Each bank was required to sanction lending of at least €3 billion in 2011, €3.5 billion in 2012 and €4 billion in 2013 for new or increased credit facilities to SMEs. Both banks achieved their targets. Having completed a process of deleveraging, both AIB and Bank of Ireland are now concentrating on growing their balance sheets. In this context, both banks recognise the need to increase business lending in the period up to 2016, and have put on record their commitment to the SME sector.  Although the targets were a useful policy intervention, the focus is now shifting towards the collation and examination, on a monthly basis, of more granular data on the funding of the activities of SMEs from both AIB and Bank of Ireland, the wider banking sector and increasingly the non-bank funding sector.

The Government recognises that SMEs are the lifeblood of the economy and play a vital role in the continuing recovery of employment growth in our country. In this regard specific measures to promote access to finance for SMEs are a central feature of the Government's Action Plan for Jobs 2014.