Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 2 November 2021
1196. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the amount of funding allocated to flexible loan schemes through the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland, SBCI, for farmers, fishers and food and drink SMEs in each of the years 2019, 2020 and to date in 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52436/21]
View answerMy Department, in partnership with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and the Department of Finance, has worked with the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI) to deliver a number of loan schemes which support SMEs in Ireland, including farmers, fishers and food & drink businesses, as follows:
Future Growth Loan Scheme (FGLS) provides long-term unsecured capital finance.
|
Year |
Loans Sanctioned at year end |
Loans Sanctioned to Farmers |
Loans Sanctioned to Fishers |
Loans Sanctioned to Food Businesses |
|
2019 |
€126.9m to 646 borrowers |
€36.4m to 289 borrowers |
€4.5m to 8 borrowers |
€10.5m to 46 borrowers |
|
2020 |
€539.1m to 2,771 borrowers |
€130.2m to 1,111 borrowers |
€9.8m to 24 borrowers |
€45.9m to 213 borrowers |
|
2021 to date |
€735.7m to 3,461 borrowers |
€157.2m to 1,287 borrowers |
€10.9m to 29 borrowers |
€67.7m to 279 borrowers |
SBCI Working Capital Scheme (SBCI WCS) (comprising the Brexit Loan Scheme and the Covid-19 Working Capital Scheme) provides working capital support to those affected by Brexit and the pandemic. This facility is now closed and has been replaced by the CCGS and the BILS (see below).
|
Year |
Loans Sanctioned at year end |
Loans Sanctioned to Farmers |
Loans Sanctioned to Fishers |
Loans Sanctioned to Food Businesses |
|
2019 |
€47.9m to 224 borrowers |
N/A |
N/A |
€9.6m to 38 borrowers |
|
2020 |
€182.0m to 1236 borrowers |
N/A |
N/A |
€26.2m to 208 borrowers |
|
2021 |
€185.7m to 1,279 borrowers |
N/A - |
N/A |
€25.4m to 214 borrowers |
Note: Due to technical issues related to the InnovFin guarantee, farmers and fishers were not eligible for the SBCI WCS. Where a loan is sanctioned but not subsequently drawn down, this can result in a reduction in the overall loans sanctioned for a subsequent period.
COVID-19 Credit Guarantee Scheme (CCGS) facilitates access to finance for eligible businesses that have been negatively impacted as a result of the outbreak of COVID-19.
|
Year |
Loans Sanctioned to year end |
Loans Sanctioned to Farmers |
Loans Sanctioned to Fishers |
Loans Sanctioned to Food Businesses (includes Accommodation and Food Services) |
|
2019 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
|
2020 |
€98.2m to 1,890 borrowers |
€11.2m to 295 borrowers |
€0.6m to 17 borrowers |
€12.3m to 244 borrowers |
|
2021 to date |
€480.7m to 7,187 borrowers |
€52.3m to 1,165 borrowers |
€3.3m to 46 borrowers |
€70.5m to 940 borrowers |
Brexit Impact Loan Scheme (BILS) is a medium-term, lower cost scheme to fund working capital and investments for businesses, including primary producers, impacted by Brexit and Covid-19. Recently launched, the Scheme opened for applications on 14 October with no loan data available at present.
