Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 May 2021
182. Deputy Martin Kenny asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if any transport operators, bus and travel companies availed of the SBCI working capital scheme in counties Sligo and Leitrim; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26449/21]
View answerThe COVID-19 Working Capital Scheme was introduced in March 2020, at the onset of the pandemic, to help businesses seeking to innovate, change or adapt to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19. Loans under the scheme range from €25,000 to €1.5m, for terms of up to three years. Loans of up to €500,000 are available unsecured and the maximum interest rate under the scheme is 4%. This scheme was made available by repurposing funding originally made available under the Brexit Loan Scheme. The scheme is delivered by the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI) on behalf of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
As of May 7th, 2021, there has been 1,018 loans sanctioned under the COVID-19 Working Capital Scheme, to a total value of €138.48m.
Figures for loans availed of per county are provided as part of the quarterly reporting on the scheme. As of the most recent quarterly report (31st December 2020), in county Sligo, 52 businesses had received eligibility approval under the COVID-19 Working Capital Scheme, with 16 loans drawn to a total value of €1,300,000. In county Leitrim, 24 eligibility codes had so far been approved, and four loans drawn to a total value of €605,000.
Of these, one tour company in the region applied for and received an eligibility code for the COVID-19 Working Capital Scheme. There is no data available on whether this tour company has to date proceeded with an application for lending under this scheme.
