Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 13 January 2021
11. Deputy James Browne asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the position regarding the future investment loan scheme of a bank (details supplied); if there will be future rounds of loans under this scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45070/20]
View answerThe Future Growth Loan Scheme was established in April 2019 for SMEs and small midcaps (up to 499 employees) seeking access to finance for long-term strategic investment. It is delivered by the SBCI through participating finance providers on behalf of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
From launch, €300m in lending was made available through the scheme. However, in response to the high demand, the scheme was expanded in July of 2020 by a further €500m in lending to help businesses in responding to the challenges of COVID-19 and Brexit.
Two of the participating finance providers (AIB and Bank of Ireland) in the scheme have currently suspended new loan applications while they process a significant pipeline of existing applications. However, businesses can still currently apply for lending with other participating providers (KBC, Permanent TSB and Ulster Bank).
As of December 24th 2020, there had been 2,742 businesses approved for lending under the Future Growth Loan Scheme for a total value of €554.6m in loan approvals. There is still a very significant amount of lending capacity remaining in the scheme to help SMEs that are looking to access finance to facilitate strategic investment. I encourage businesses interested in the scheme to approach the lenders that are currently accepting new applications. I would also encourage businesses to regularly monitor the SBCI website, https://sbci.gov.ie/, for updates on the cohort of lenders participating in the scheme and those that are open for new applications.
