asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if there is an advantage in an exporter having excessive export credit insurance in order to obtain the equivalent amount in low cost export credit from his banker and thereby have a competitive advantage over exporters who have been refused export credit insurance or who have a lower limit of insurance.
Written Answers. - Export Credit Insurance.
77.
Under the export credit scheme, export credit finance is available to exporters who have both an export credit insurance policy and who trade on bills of exchange or letters of credit.
Export credit finance is made available under a guarantee issued by the Insurance Corporation of Ireland plc (ICI) to the exporters financing bank, to which the exporter is also a party. Finance may be drawn down by the exporter only after shipment and on presentation to the bank of various documents including shipping documentation.
Consequently, regardless of the overall level of business insured under the policy, export credit finance cannot exceed the actual value of goods shipped.
As I indicated in my reply to Question No. 56 on Thursday, 27 April 1989, in the general operation of export credit insurance, the matter of giving a competitive advantage to any applicant does not arise. In fact, a practicable approach to underwriting business is as far as possible adopted consistent with the desire to maximise export achievement which is the objective of the scheme.