Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Following a detailed review of the initial 2012 scheme, several changes have been made to make the credit guarantee scheme more accessible to SMEs and open to other finance providers and products. The revised scheme will encourage more lending to SMEs by providing for the State to take up a higher level of risk on finance provided. The State will take up to 80% of the risk as opposed to 75% and will allow new financial providers to take part so that others can take part in it, such as invoice discounters and lessors etc. The revised scheme allows for the provision of the finance to SMEs via products other than traditional bank loans, namely, credit facility agreements, asset credit facility agreements and invoice financing facility agreements. The conditions around it have changed somewhat. The Deputy is correct. We will provide the committee secretariat with the definite figures later on.

There has not been a significant take-up of it, but we have changed it somewhat and I think that is important. The Brexit loan scheme is completely different so I expect that there will be a significant take-up of loans under that scheme.