Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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At the April Council of Agriculture Ministers it was decided under state aid rules to offer states the option of exploring a financial mechanism to provide up to €15,000 for farmers. We are in consultation with farming organisations and are exploring what we can do on this matter. The Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland, SBCI, and the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, ISIF, which used to be the National Pensions Reserve Fund, are involved in providing lower cost loans for the farming community. Some 21% of their investments to date have been in the primary producer sector, in particular, farming but also fisheries and forestry. This space has only been open to us since the April Council's decision. We are pursuing the possibilities in that regard.