Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 5 March 2020
914. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of food businesses that applied for working capital under the Brexit loan scheme which opened in March 2018; the number of such businesses that have been sanctioned financing to date; and the value of same. [3904/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe €300 million Brexit Loan Scheme was introduced, in cooperation with the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation and the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI), to provide funding support to enable eligible Irish businesses (i.e. SMEs or small mid-caps) to implement the changes necessary to address the challenges posed by Brexit. It provides for loans of €25,000 to €1,500,000 at a maximum interest rate of 4%, ranging from 1 year to 3 years, with unsecured loans up to €500,000. The loans can be used for working capital requirements or to fund innovation, change or adaptation of the business to mitigate the impact of Brexit.
At close of business on 28 February, 995 applications had been received of which 894 are approved, 18 are ineligible and 83 are in progress. A breakdown, including details of food businesses, is set out in the table.
Brexit Loan Scheme at 28.02.2020:
|
|
Applied |
Approved |
Sanctioned |
Value of Loans Sanctioned |
|
No. of Food Businesses |
160 |
145 |
38 |
€9.6m |
|
Total |
995 |
894 |
238 |
€49.8m |
It should be noted that the approval and sanction processes are separate. Many businesses have applied for sanction in preparation for Brexit but do not go on to apply for a loan.
