Irish government begins bank 'tour' for SME credit[fr][de] 

There has been widespread concern that viable small and medium-sized enterprises in Ireland are being forced into bankruptcy due to the twin threat of late payments and the reluctance of banks to lend. 

The Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association (ISME) said businesses are now waiting 73 days for payments – up from 68 days in the first quarter of the year. Compared to 12 months ago, 57% of respondents to an ISME survey said it is now taking longer to get paid, while just 6% reported an improvement. 

"Access to bank credit for viable businesses is critical if we are to ensure that our enterprise sector survives the current economic difficulties and positions itself to benefit from an international upturn," said Billy Kelleher , the minister for trade and commerce. 

Meetings with business groups, state agencies, tourism representatives and banks will take place at eight locations in the coming weeks. "I will also use the opportunity to outline government policies and actions in relation to bank lending," Kelleher said. 

The Irish government has established a new Credit Supply Clearing Group to identify specific patterns where the flow of credit to viable business appears to be blocked. 

Meanwhile, Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen's ailing government has unveiled an innovation taskforce charged with developing the "smart economy". The group of business leaders and consultants will work to position Ireland as an International Innovation Hub and is expected to boost research commercialisation rates. 

The taskforce will also include the heads of Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland, Science Foundation Ireland, the Higher Education Authority and representatives of the Departments of Education and Science, Enterprise, Trade and Employment, and Finance. 

"While weathering the worst global recession of our lifetime, it is imperative that we position Ireland so that we can take advantage of the global upturn when it comes. We need to think smart, work smart, and be smart in order to build our future," said Cowen. 

"The Ireland of the future will be a smart, high-value, export-led economy. It will have some of the world's leading research-intensive multinationals, a number of which will be Irish-owned. It will have thousands of innovative small and medium enterprises," the prime minister added. 

Cowen withstood a number of heavy political blows in European and local elections in June but has been boosted by a successful European Council summit, at which he secured legally binding guarantees which pave the way for a second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. 

Last week, the International Monetary Fund delivered a damning report which criticised Cowen's handling of the economy as finance minister. However, the IMF also endorsed measures taken by the Irish government to address the crisis. Ireland's recovery plan includes the establishment of a "bad bank" to clear toxic assets from the balance sheets of financial institutions in order to get credit flowing to businesses.