Minister Kelleher completes round of Regional Meetings on Access to Bank Credit

Mr. Billy Kelleher, T.D., Minister for Trade and Commerce, today (Monday 13^th July 2009) completed a series of eight regional meetings with representatives of business, the banks and the state sector to assess the experience of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in accessing bank credit at local and regional level.

The meetings took place over the last fortnight in Cork, Waterford, Dublin, Bundoran, Limerick, Galway, Athlone and the final one today in Dundalk. The meetings were attended by local representatives of the major banks and local business representatives including, representatives from the Chambers of Commerce in each region. Local representatives from the relevant state agencies, the County Enterprise Boards, Enterprise Ireland, IDA and Failte Ireland also attended. About 200 representatives attended the meetings.

Minister Kelleher said that he found the meetings extremely useful in allowing him to hear at first hand the views of local business representative groups, local bank representatives and State Agencies on their experience in relation to access to bank lending. “I was impressed by the honest and open approach adopted by all participants at the meetings” he said. “It is vitally important that we work together in addressing the extremely difficult environment in which SMEs have to operate at present and there is an urgent need to start to rebuild a relationship of trust between business and the banks. I can assure all of those who took the time to attend the meetings that the views they put forward will be taken fully into account in the on-going consideration of this matter.”