The Tánaiste has said we need a greater flow of money from the banks to small businesses to grow the economy.
Joan Burton was speaking ahead of a major conference on the future of the Irish economy which takes place at County Hall in Cork City today.
The event titled Ireland's Economic Recovery - What Next?" is being organised by the European Commission and Cork Chamber of Commerce.
Joan Burton also praised the announcement of €315bn from the EU Commission this week for job-creation projects but the Minister says that the banks need to get lending.
"What we need in Ireland is the flow of credit from the banks to or small and medium-sized businesses. We do need to build a much stronger domestic economy for SMEs," she said.