Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 2 December 2020
23. Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of applications to date under the Brexit loan scheme by month; the number of successful applications to date; the reason for applications not being successful; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40575/20]
View answerThe Brexit Loan Scheme makes available working capital lending to eligible businesses that are or will be exposed to impacts arising from the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.
The scheme features a two-stage application process, whereby businesses must first apply to the SBCI to confirm their eligibility under the scheme. Successful applicants are issued an eligibility reference number, which they can then use to make a loan application to a participating finance provider.
Uptake of the Brexit Loan Scheme is reported on a quarterly basis, and so the table below sets out the number of eligibility applications, the number of loans sanctioned at bank level and the value of loans sanctioned to the end of each quarter since the launch of the scheme. While my Department is waiting for final data for Q3 2020, it is known that there has been little additional uptake of the Brexit Loan Scheme in Q3 of this year as businesses have diverted their attention to dealing with the impacts of COVID-19.
It should be noted that a proportion of the eligibility applications are reapplications from businesses that have previously been approved. Repeat applications typically arise where an applicant’s eligibility approval has expired (six months after issuing) and the applicant applies for eligibility renewal.
To date, only 23 (2%) of the 1,175 applicants have been deemed ineligible for the scheme. Generally, this has been because they failed to meet either the Brexit-exposure criteria or the Innovation criteria under the scheme, because their sector is ineligible for the scheme, or because of an error in the application form (businesses may reapply to correct an error).
Loan approvals under the scheme are subject to the participating finance providers' own credit policies and procedures.
I am conscious that the delays to the Brexit process may have caused businesses to defer their Brexit preparations, and that the added disruption of the pandemic has meant that many businesses have had to focus their efforts on successfully navigating an unforeseeable crisis.
However, Brexit will mean change for Irish businesses. I am encouraging businesses to carefully consider their exposure to Brexit-related impacts, to take the necessary steps to insulate themselves from those impacts, and to ensure they continue to trade after 1 January. Government has now approved an extension to the Brexit Loan Scheme so that it will remain in place to provide an appropriate access to finance option for Brexit impacted businesses throughout 2021.
|
Reporting Period |
Eligibility Applications |
Eligibility Applications Approved |
Eligibility Applications Ineligible |
Loans Sanctioned |
Value of Loans Approved/Sanctioned |
|
Q2 2018 |
151 |
132 |
6 |
10 |
€2.49m |
|
Q3 2018 |
240 |
200 |
8 |
34 |
€6.5m |
|
Q4 2018 |
355 |
313 |
6 |
60 |
€13.9m |
|
Q1 2019 |
553 |
497 |
11 |
101 |
€22m |
|
Q2 2019 |
663 |
598 |
15 |
145 |
€31.6m |
|
Q3 2019 |
818 |
740 |
18 |
196 |
€43.7m |
|
Q4 2019 |
925 |
835 |
18 |
223 |
€47.7m |
|
Q1 2020 |
1,035 |
931 |
21 |
238 |
€48.46m |
|
Q2 2020 |
1,175 |
1,005 |
23 |
273 |
€55.07m |
