Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 February 2017
174. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance the EU funds his Department accesses; the plans he is putting in place to access these funds to a greater degree in view of Brexit; if he will outline the initiatives he is pursuing to establish access to new funds in view of the challenge of Brexit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8806/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Government is focused on protecting and advancing Ireland's interests before during and after the negotiations. Our priorities are clear: minimising the impact on trade and the economy, protecting the Northern Ireland Peace Process, maintaining the Common Travel Area, and influencing the future of the European Union.
A critical part of our work is ensuring that our priorities are heard and understood across Europe. Therefore, engagement with our EU partners and with the EU institutions is critical. A programme of intense engagement at political and official level is continuing to ensure that the EU's position for the forthcoming negotiations reflects our priorities.
Our preparations for Brexit include detailed engagement with the European Commission, which we have made aware that Brexit is already having an impact on the Irish economy, and of the disproportionate consequences posed by Brexit for the Irish economy overall in comparison to other Member States. In the context of Brexit, it is more important than ever that the EU continues to support economic growth and employment, and those Irish businesses most affected by Brexit.
In this regard, as announced at the opening of the new European Investment Bank (EIB) office in Dublin on 12 December 2016, the European Investment Fund (EIF) have provided a €100 million COSME counter-guarantee facility to the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI), Ireland's National Promotional Institution for SMEs. This facility will be used to support the €150 million Agri Cash Flow Support Loan Fund, announced on Budget Day, which was developed by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DFAM) in conjunction with the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland.
The SBCI has also submitted an application for the EU budget supported InnovFin (Finance for Innovators) Guarantee Programme and is currently engaging with potential partner banks on creating a pilot program for a guaranteed loan product.
Separately, the EIB and the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF) have recently announced an agreement to support a €112 million investment in privately owned forests across Ireland. This new engagement with Dasos, a specialist forestry investment fund, is the first forestry project in the EU to be supported by the European Fund for Strategic Investment (EFSI). The ISIF will provide €55 million and the EIB, through EFSI, will provide €28.5 million for the scheme. Additional support is expected from other investors as the initiative progresses. The scheme will seek to address issues faced by small scale forests across the country by working to improve forest management and strengthen the supply of wood for commercial use. The investment will support crucial upgrades to Ireland's forestry infrastructure, through the consolidation of its management. The EFSI is an important additional funding option alongside the EIB's normal lending.
More generally, the EIB is also providing €400 million of long-term funding at attractive rates to the SBCI so that it can improve access to finance for the SME sector, thus supporting SME growth and investment through the provision of flexible, lower cost and longer term loans.
