Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 8 October 2019
323. Deputy Lisa Chambers asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the funding for Brexit related initiatives available from his Department; the funding that has been drawn down to date in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40522/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe following table shows the funding and current state of play for Brexit related initiatives:
|
Title of Scheme |
Details |
Take up (as of 30 Sept. 2019) |
|
Agriculture Cash Flow Support Loan Scheme |
Developed in co-operation with the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI) Funding of €150m Cash flow support facility, providing farmers with a low cost, flexible source of working capital loan amounts up to €150,000 for up to six years at an interest rate of 2.95% Scheme closed. |
Approximately 4,246 applications to the value of €145m Average loan size of €34,127 Average loan period of 41 months |
|
Brexit Loan Scheme |
Joint DAFM/DBEI/Dept. of Finance/SBCI Scheme Funding of €300m Operable 28 March 2018 to 31 March 2020 Loans of €25,000 to €1,500,000 per eligible enterprise Maximum interest rate of 4%, ranging from 1 year to 3 years At least 40% available to food businesses Unsecured loans up to €500,000 |
738 applications approved 194 loans progressed to sanction at bank level Total value of sanctioned loans is €43.5m 35 (with a value of €9.18m) relate to food businesses |
|
Future Growth Loan Scheme |
Joint DBEI/DAFM Scheme Funding of €300m available since 17 Apr 2019 Available to Irish businesses, including farmers and the agri-food & seafood sectors Applications submitted through the SBCI since 17th April 2019 |
1,283 applications approved 270 loans progressed to sanction at bank level Total value of sanctioned loans is €43.8m 151 (with a value of €16.7m) relate to farmers and to 22 food businesses worth €5.9M |
|
Beef Exceptional Aid Measure |
34,517 eligible applications received. A further 560 applications have been submitted under appeal from applicants that have been deemed ineligible but who have requested to be considered for inclusion in the scheme. Payments are scheduled to commence in December 2019. |
€78,192,380 in potential payments (not including allocations to the 560 appealed applications) Average payment €2,265 |
In addition to the above supports, I have introduced a range of other measures over the last two budgets to assist the agri-food sector in preparing to address the challenges posed by Brexit. These include:
- Direct aid to farmers;
- Capital funding for the food industry;
- Supports for Bord Bia and Teagasc to assist food companies prepare for Brexit including through market diversification and innovation.
In addition, I have led an intensified series of trade missions to develop and grow new markets to increase the sector's global footprint across the world, and to reduce our dependence on the UK market. I have appointed Attaches throughout the globe to further develop and deepen market access.
And, of course, our practical preparations for all potential scenarios, including a no-deal Brexit, continue to be progressed and refined through the whole-of-Government coordination structures that have been in place for some time.
