The Government approved an amount of €100m in total for the Enterprise Stabilisation Fund for the years 2009 and 2010. €50m has been included in the estimate of my Department for this purpose in 2009. Under the scheme, Enterprise Ireland may provide up to €500,000 to viable companies with robust business models that are facing difficulties as a result of the current economic environment. The fund supplies direct financial support to internationally trading enterprises that are investing in cost reduction or other measures to gain sales in overseas markets.
To date, Enterprise Ireland has approved approximately €44m for 98 projects under this fund. Enquiries have also been received from a further 100 companies. However, these enquiries have not as yet progressed to formal applications. To date, 10 projects have not been successful and alternative options have been examined for these companies.
For reasons of commercial sensitivity, the names of companies who have applied for assistance from the Enterprise Stabilisation Fund are not disclosed.
The focus of the Enterprise Stabilisation Fund is to support viable but vulnerable exporting companies who are experiencing difficulties because of the current economic climate. Unlike the Government's Employment Subsidy Scheme, the Stabilisation Fund is not a direct employment support and is intended to support the survival and expansion of exporting companies. Accordingly, it is not possible to state the number of jobs being sustained directly by the fund. However, details of sectors that have received financial support through this fund are contained in the following tabular statement.
Funding for the Enterprise Stabilisation Fund in 2009 is being kept under review at present and any expansion of the Fund must await consideration in the context of the 2010 estimates deliberations.
Approved Applications — Sectoral Breakdown
|
Number
|
|
Clean tech
|
5
|
|
Clothing
|
2
|
|
Construction
|
11
|
|
Consumer Retail
|
4
|
|
Electronics
|
12
|
|
Engineering
|
19
|
|
Food
|
16
|
|
Life sciences
|
4
|
|
Manufacturing
|
2
|
|
Medical Devices
|
1
|
|
Print and Packaging
|
1
|
|
Scaling
|
2
|
|
Services
|
4
|
|
Software
|
15
|
|
Total
|
98
|
