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Seanad Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 24 Jul 1928

Vol. 10 No. 27

PUBLIC BUSINESS. - TRADE LOANS (GUARANTEE) (AMENDMENT) BILL, 1928—SECOND STAGE.

Question proposed:—That this Bill be now read a Second Time.

I should like to ask the Minister to what extent capital for native industry has been supplied by the Industrial Trust with or without guarantees? I should like to suggest, for what it is worth, that the mere fact that guarantees are available have to a certain extent a damping-down effect on the provision of unguaranteed capital. It is obvious that people having money to lend should be fully secured if they are able to say, "here is a Government with machinery for guaranteeing this, and why should we not get the guarantee." I would like the Minister to give his views to the House on this important matter.

If that is the only question to be answered I am afraid I must confess my inability to answer it. I could not give any comparison as to the amount of capital that might flow in from outside if there were not a State guarantee. The fact emerging from the Bill is that £1,000,000 was placed at the disposal of business. In a period of four years only £342,000 was availed of. I think, if anything, a criticism that might be passed on the Act is that it was too rigid and might require more elasticity rather than being a danger and a preventive to outside capital coming in. It is not a point lost sight of. It was raised by Mr. Hewat in the Dáil in May last, and there was rather a promise given this would be regarded as an abnormal type of legislation to meet abnormal difficulties, and we hope soon to see an end of it.

Perhaps the Minister does not wish to do so, but he has not answered my question in round figures as to the capital that has been provided unguaranteed by a body set up for that purpose.

How can I answer that?

Is not that information within the knowledge of the Minister?

Question put and agreed to.
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