Ballina Deputy Dara Calleary has accused the Government of “washing its hands” of SMEs as new figures show the economy is being starved of credit.
The figures from the Central Bank show that lending to SMEs dropped by 6.2 per cent last year.
“It’s clear that the credit crisis is deepening, with banks restricting the working capital available to viable businesses and the Government unwilling to intervene,” said the Fianna Fáil deputy.
“The Finance Minister Michael Noonan appears to have washed his hands of this entirely. Despite the further reduction in the availability of credit last year, the Government has seen no need to crack down on the two-pillar banks and impose any lending targets this year.”
