Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 9 May 2013
41. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Finance the impact on the small and medium enterprises sector in charges to bank changes including interest rates changes, over the past two years; and the steps taken by his Department to address this matter with the banking sector. [21935/13]
View answerThe Government recognises that SMEs are the lifeblood of the economy and will play a vital role in the recovery of employment growth in our country. It is also very conscious of the costs faced by SMEs in doing business and one of the aims of the Action Plan for Jobs 2013 is to reduce controllable costs of doing business. I have no statutory function in relation to business interest rate decisions made by individual lending institutions at any particular time. The decisions financial institutions operating in Ireland make on the interest rates they charge to customers are commercial decisions for the institutions concerned. Interest rates are determined by a broad range of factors including ECB base rates, deposit rates, market funding costs, the competitive environment, and an institution’s overall funding.
