David Andrews
Question:168 Mr. Andrews asked the Minister for Tourism and Trade the plans, if any, he has to exclude restaurants from the small business expansion fund; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2138/95]
Written Answers. - Exclusion of Restaurants.
When the £100 million Small Business Expansion Loan Scheme (SBELS) was announced in the 1994 budget, the then Ministers for Tourism and Trade and Enterprise and Employment agreed an allocation of £25 million for tourism projects. It appeared quite likely, at that stage that this would be insufficient to cover all applications for tourism related projects, and this view was borne out by the fact that the £25 million had been fully committed by 30 September 1994.
It was accordingly necessary to focus the scheme on areas where it would be most beneficial in terms of tourism development and job protection and creation. Specific tourism eligibility criteria were therefore drawn up for the scheme and the views of Bord Fáilte and the industry generally were taken into account in this exercise.
The importance of a vibrant restaurant sector to the overall Irish tourism product was fully recognised in this context. It contributes to and benefits from tourism growth, but is nevertheless, less dependent on tourism for its survival than many other sectors. Given the need to prioritise the areas most likely to benefit from the scheme, it was accordingly decided that restaurants should not be eligible. The scheme has made a major contribution to tourism development and I have no doubt that the restaurant sector will benefit significantly from this growth.
In the event of there being a further subsidised loan scheme for small businesses. I would, of course, strongly support the inclusion of the tourism sector. I would not, however, envisage broadening the criteria to include restaurants.