Niall Collins
Question:179. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the grant funding supports available for a person (details supplied). [7982/18]
View answerThursday, 15 February 2018
Questions (179)
Written answers
From the information provided by the Deputy, I am not aware of any grant that is available in the circumstances outlined.
In this regard, it is important to note that the banks are, and will continue to be, the first port of call for finance for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). However some Government initiatives have been introduced in order to ensure that SMEs obtain appropriate finance in order to sustain and grow their business.
In the event that this business has made a formal application to one of the main banks and has been refused, the first possibility is to appeal that decision to the Credit Review Office. This Office was established to provide a simple and effective review process for SMEs refused credit from the main banks, or where the SME considers that the terms or conditions attached to a credit facility or its price are so onerous as to amount to a constructive refusal.
While the Office has no statutory or regulatory powers to overturn bank lending decisions, it has been the experience to date that if the lending could have been made within acceptable risk boundaries, the bank will be required to comply with this recommendation, or to explain why it will not do so. To date, all banks have respected and complied with the Credit Review Office recommendations. It is important to note that you must make a formal loan application and have been refused before you can refer the matter to the Credit Review Office, which can be contacted at Tel: 1850 211 789 or online at www.creditreview.ie.
Again, in the event that a loan has or is likely to be refused, a second possibility is the Credit Guarantee Scheme under Minister Humphrey’s remit. These are cases where the Minister shares with the bank a large part of the risk involved in the loan to an SME. This is exclusively targeted at SMEs that are unable to access credit because of these two particular market failures in operation, (i) the inadequacy of SME collateral and, (ii) the inadequacy of understanding of the novelty of a business model, market, sector or technology that the SME is involved in.
The first step towards availing of a credit guarantee would be for you to ask the bank that has refused you lending (the 3 main banks AIB, Bank of Ireland and Ulster Bank all participate in the Schemes), to request this avenue of funding, a process that would continue with the bank in question assessing the company’s viability under alternative arrangements before making a decision. Further information on the Credit Guarantee Scheme is available at: https://www.djei.ie/en/Publications/SME-Credit-Guarantee-Scheme-Information-Booklet.html
Furthermore a wide list of over 100 possible Government supports is available online from the online tool available at
https://www.supportingsmes.ie/BusinessDetails.aspx and I would encourage the business to review this portal to establish the various potential supports available in the circumstances.