Bank manager told farmer: ‘Your grain can rot in fields’
The Loughrea-based TD said the farmer in his locality had been harvesting four or five hours when his combine seized up. He wanted an instant response from the bank to get a new or second-hand machine.
“He approached his bank where he had no previous difficulty, and went to every leasing agency and other lending institution but none would provide, the money. He asked the bank manager would he allow the cereals to rot in the fields rather than give him the money. It was in his interest to complete the harvest so that he could pay off his loan but the manager said, ‘Yes. It can rot in the fields’,” the Dáil was told.
During last week’s NAMA Bill 2009 debate, Mr Burke called on Finance Minister Brian Lenihan to ensure that resources are made available by banks to borrowers.
He said a small food industry that has won national recognition recently lost the opportunity to fill a valuable import contract for the whole of Ireland, because every institution, local and national, including the one with which it had a long and favourable association, declined a loan of €25,000 needed to extend the business and fulfil the contract. This reliable, fully-resourced and long-established food industry had a good credit record, said the TD. He said local autonomy is gone, and everything has to be presented with an application for funding and assessed in Dublin, where faceless individuals say “No” in practically every instance. His party colleague, Deputy Seymour Crawford, told the Dáil that small businesses are being asked to do the impossible by banks.
He said the feed milling business is in a serious situation, simply because business people cannot get their loans extended or revised. Pigs would be dying by Christmas if something is not done, he warned.
