Written answers

Tuesday, 31 May 2016

Department of Finance

Small and Medium Enterprises Debt

Photo of Michael McGrathMichael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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258. To ask the Minister for Finance the number and value of commercial loans held by non-bank lenders; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13437/16]

Photo of Michael NoonanMichael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I have been advised by the Central Bank that it does not publish data on this basis. However, the Credit Demand Survey conducted on behalf of the Department monitors the requirements for SMEs, the latest available survey indicates that non-bank finance for SMEs is considerably lower than bank finance. For the period April 2015 to October 2015 the survey indicates that 10% of SMEs sought non-bank finance, this represented a reduction of 1% on the previous period.

The Government remains committed to the SME sector, as reflected in the recently published Programme for a Partnership Government, and sees it as a key engine of ongoing economic growth.  Consequently, my Department and the Credit Review Office, working with the other relevant Departments and Agencies, will continue to monitor the availability of both bank and non-bank credit on both a macro and sectoral basis in order to ensure that sufficient access to finance is available to facilitate participants in the SME sector to reach their full potential in terms of growth and employment generation.  In this context, the Action Plan for Jobs 2016 includes a dedicated chapter and associated integrated set of actions to support the financing for growth in the SME sector.

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