Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 21 February 2018
123. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the companies that received aid under the Enterprise Ireland stabilisation fund; the amount each company received; the ex-post analysis of the scheme that has been carried out; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8909/18]
Amharc ar fhreagra124. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the number of companies that received aid under the stabilisation fund that are still in business; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8910/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 123 and 124 together.
The Enterprise Stabilisation Fund (ESF) was established by Government to support viable but vulnerable exporting companies that were experiencing difficulties due to the economic crisis, which started in 2008. Client companies of Enterprise Ireland, IDA, Údarás Na Gaeltachta, and Shannon Development across all sectors within manufacturing and internationally traded services were eligible to apply. The fund was administered by Enterprise Ireland.
The State Aid basis for the Enterprise Stabilisation Fund was the Temporary Aid Framework 2008. Based on this derogation from the EU, the ESF was open for the years 2009 and 2010.
Enterprise Ireland approved €80.4 million under the non-competitive ESF and paid out €80.018 million. 223 companies were approved funding, and the average funding per enterprise was €375,000.
The majority of the companies supported are still trading as viable entities, and continue to contribute to the Irish economy. As of March 2017, over €22.5 million has been redeemed to date from companies that were legally in a position to do so. (A company must have distributable reserves to be in a position, legally, to repay the State. Redemption of the shares will continue to be sought from companies who fall into this category.
€15.72 million invested in ESF companies cannot be redeemed as the companies have been dissolved, liquidated, or gone into receivership.
The objective of the ESF was to retain jobs and ensure the continued survival and growth of these Enterprise Ireland client companies. In total, 9,500 jobs were supported as a result of the fund.
Table 1: total amount invested/drawn down by year over the period 2007-2010, under the Enterprise Stabilisation Fund.
|
Year |
Investment Amount (€) |
|
2007 |
180,337 |
|
2008 |
7,028,316 |
|
2009 |
56,029,434 |
|
2010 |
16,780,000 |
|
Grand Total |
80,018,087 |
