The Irish Exporters Association has called for a review of the Government's €450m Credit Guarantee Scheme, set up to get credit to small companies.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, IEA chief executive John Whelan said restrictions placed on the scheme mean it is not helping companies or creating jobs.
He said only €3m of the total fund has been used because of fees and loan requirements.
Mr Whelan said: "It's an incentive scheme we were looking for. The restrictions that have been put on the scheme have made it virtually impossible for it to act as a stimulus."
He said the scheme needs to be reviewed if "we really want to stimulate."
Mr Whelan called on the Government to push the EU to ease rules on state aid to help companies trying to expand into new markets.
