Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 October 2022
722. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when successful businesses will be awarded funding under the second call of the Brexit impact loan scheme for those in the agri-food sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53377/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe €315m Brexit Impact Loan Scheme (BILS) was developed by my Department and the Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment (DETE) in partnership with the Department of Finance, the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI) and the European Investment Fund (EIF). Available through participating banks and credit unions, it provides loans to Brexit-impacted Irish businesses, including farmers and the agri-food & seafood sectors, for working capital, investment and re-financing. Loans range from €25,000 to a maximum of €1.5m and are available for terms of between 1 and 6 years. Loans of up to €500,000 are unsecured.
At close of business on 10 October 2022, there were 1,808 loans to the value of some €234.8m sanctioned on the BILS. Of that total, 823 loans to the value of €65.4m relate to farmers and 175 to the value of €31.3m relate to food businesses.
In July 2022, the BILS was amended to include the COVID Loan Scheme (CLS) which, delivered as a sub-scheme, provides loans to COVID-impacted Irish businesses. At close of business on 10 October 2022, there were 177 loans to the value of some €12.7m sanctioned on the CLS. Of those, 21 to the value of €1.1m relate to farmers and 36 to the value of €2.1m relate to food businesses.
AIB and Bank of Ireland have reached capacity under the Brexit Impact Loan Scheme and are no longer accepting new applications. Loan applications continue to be accepted by other lenders, with further details available at https://sbci.gov.ie/.
