SMEs ‘need debt forgiveness’

Debt forgiveness on some outstanding SME loans will be required to deal with the debt crisis, a Dáil committee was told yesterday.

John Trethowan, head of the Credit Review Office, who last year warned of the negative effects of a blanket debt forgiveness scheme for business borrowers, told the joint Oireachtas jobs committee that “some level of forgiveness will have to be required in order to deal with legacy debts”.

He said this was his personal observation, as such matters do not fall under his office’s remit.