Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 2 May 2017

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Agriculture Cashflow Support Loan Scheme: Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland

4:00 pm

Mr. Nick Ashmore:

Yes. We knew we needed a reasonably rapid uptake because we have a time limit. We have to be done and dusted by the end of August to meet the state aid window. We were a little bit concerned that we might end up having to drive the marketing and information. We had the same experience when we started the SBCI. The agriculture community is incredibly financially savvy and interest rate sensitive. They are the first to spot a good deal that helps them and they just went for it. It did catch us by surprise, I have to say, and I think it caught the banks a little bit by surprise as well. It was very well flagged. We worked very hard to talk to the Irish Farmers Association, IFA, the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association, ICMSA, the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association, ICSA. We made sure we engaged with those stakeholders as much as we could so they were able then to inform their members. We were also helped by the media and Agriland, which got the word out very well.