Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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52. To ask the Minister for Finance the action he is taking to deal with the small and medium enterprise legacy debt issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5265/16]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, Chapter 7 (Finance for Growth) of this year's Action Plan for Jobs (APJ) sets out a range of commitments to ensure viable SME's can access appropriate finance at a reasonable cost from both bank and non-bank sources.

In line with Action 144 of the APJ, officials from my Department continue to collate and examine data from AIB and Bank of Ireland on a monthly basis, including data pertaining to SME legacy debt. Furthermore, my officials meet the banks on a quarterly basis to ensure an informed understanding of the wider SME bank lending environment which assists the development and implementation of policies aimed at ensuring SME access to finance and increased competition in the SME lending sector.  In addition, I am informed by the Central Bank of Ireland that, as part of their on-going supervision, the Central Bank, working in conjunction with the European Cental Bank (ECB) as part of the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM), continues to challenge the banks on their strategies, management, measurement and reporting of the resolution and restructuring of all non-performing loans (NPLs) including SME NPLs. Relevant actions taken by the Central Bank in recent years have been extensive and include, inter alia, capital assessment reviews, stress tests, distressed credit operation reviews, balance sheet assessment exercises, SME loan resolution bank specific targets, on-site inspections and on-going, intensive supervisory engagement with the banks regarding distressed debt. In 2013 non-public institution specific SME distressed loan resolution targets were set for a number of banks. The targets required the banks to develop strategies, at borrower level, to resolve their non-performing loans. The targets ended in Q1 2015 with lenders reporting that they satisfied the requirements set out. Progress has been made by the relevant institutions in resolving SME NPLs in recent years and NPL trends continue to move in a positive trajectory. Bank of Ireland have indicated that they have reached resolution in 90% of distressed SME cases and more than 9 out of 10 restructured business banking borrowers continue to meet their agreed arrangements. AIB has also made significant progress in reducing distressed loan balances with the process of restructuring the group's SME book reaching its latter stages with the majority of offered SME restructures either complete or at the final stages of completion. Recognising these developments, alongside changes in the supervision of the banks following the introduction of the SSM, the Central Bank's approach to commercial NPL resolution utilises a bank specific approach taking into consideration a number of factors including, inter alia, the institution's NPL resolution strategy and operational capability. The sustainable resolution of distressed SME loans remains a significant priority for the Central Bank and will therefore continue to be central to their supervisory focus throughout 2016 and beyond. Supervision will continue to be intrusive, supplemented by targeted inspections and enhanced monitoring of performance of the banks in delivery of supervisory objectives.