I propose to take Questions Nos. 247 and 248 together.
The €300 million Brexit Loan Scheme was launched yesterday, and aims to mitigate the effects of Brexit on exposed and vulnerable companies. It will be available to businesses who employ less than 500 staff. Businesses will be able to borrow monies to support and fund their Brexit stabilisation strategies and growth plans.
My Department worked very closely with Enterprise Ireland (EI) during the development of this scheme to ensure that it would adequately meet the needs of its client companies, although the scheme is also open to non-EI companies. EI has welcomed the Brexit Loan Scheme and will work with its client companies to help them to avail of the finance available.
While the Brexit Loan Scheme is an extremely important aspect of my Department’s Brexit strategy, it is not the only action that we are taking. EI provides a suite of supports to enable companies to prepare for Brexit. These include, but are not limited to, the Brexit Scorecard, the Be Prepared Grant, the Market Discovery Fund and the Brexit Advisory Clinics.
Yet another measure to mitigate against the effects of Brexit, is the Rescue and Restructuring (R&R) Scheme which was approved by the EU Commission in late November 2017. This scheme has been put in place as it is considered prudent to have contingency measures in place so that we can respond swiftly to changing circumstances as necessary.
In addition, my Department more widely is taking steps to address other mitigating measures, such as examining current State Aid legislation. In November 2017, the then Tánaiste met with Commissioner Vestager (who has responsibility for EU State aid policy). An outcome from this meeting was the establishment of a Working Group comprising representatives from DG Competition, the Department of Business, Enterprise & Innovation, Enterprise Ireland and Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. The objective of the Group is to scope and design schemes to support enterprises impacted by Brexit in line with State Aid rules. Should issues arise that require an approach that does not fit within the existing State Aid rules, this will be raised as part of the Working Group discussions.
My Department is also examining proposals for a new longer-term Business Investment Loan Scheme to support businesses to invest strategically in response to Brexit. The scheme will apply to SMEs, small mid caps and innovative mid caps and will operate within existing State Aid rules.
We will continue to monitor the challenges faced by businesses, and continue to develop robust policies to help combat them. I feel confident, however, that our Brexit Loan Scheme will provide Brexit exposed companies with the necessary capital to develop strong stability and growth strategies to enable them to not only combat challenges, but to avail of the opportunities that Brexit presents.
