Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for his questions. I propose to take Questions Nos. 6 and 9 together.

The Board of Microfinance Ireland, MFI, provides me with quarterly reports of progress and these reports are published on the websites of both Microfinance Ireland and my Department.

The latest available figures, up to end of quarter 2, 2017, show that there have been 2,966 applications received with €19.6 million worth of loans approved and 1,172 drawdowns of loans worth €16.6 million in total. The fund has supported 3,145 jobs. Support activity is widely distributed both by geography and sector. Activity by county and industry is published in the quarterly reports. I will send a copy of the quarter 2, 2017 report to both Deputies for their information.

A total of 22% of all loan approvals have gone to Dublin; 16% to the south east; 13% to the Border region; 11% to the west; 11% to the mid-east; 10% to the south west; 8% to the mid-west and 9% to the midlands.

The most popular sectors supported are wholesale-retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motor cycles at 22%, manufacturing at 12% and construction at 8%.

There were 357 loans approved in 2015 totalling €5.4 million, 397 loans approved in 2016 totalling €5.4 million and 178 loans were approved up until the end of June this year totalling €2.5 million.

During 2015, in line with the Microenterprise Loan Fund Act 2012, the performance of MFI was reviewed in detail by my officials, and the implementation of changes led to better performance, flexibility and advertising of its products. A key change was the removal of a previous requirement for a microenterprise to have been refused a bank loan before recourse to this channel.

Microfinance Ireland is guided by its new strategy, The Way Forward 2017-2021. At the centre of the new strategy is the strategic vision which provides for the need for MFI to create a value proposition by being the best in class micro-lender, creating and supporting jobs and fulfilling the borrowing requirements of microenterprises across Ireland. The strategic vision also aims to exceed the strategic objective of the fund of supporting the creation of 7,700 jobs in Ireland.

This new strategy is bearing fruit as the organisation was recently awarded a certification of compliance with the European code of good conduct for micro credit provision. This certification confirms MFI's position as a best in class micro credit provider in Europe, being one of the first institutions in Europe to qualify and the only organisation in Ireland to receive this award.

With regards to loan guarantees, 108 facilities were sanctioned under the CGS in 2015 totalling €20.4 million, 131 facilities sanctioned in 2016 totalling €22.8 million and in 2017, up until the end of June of this year, 70 facilities have been sanctioned totalling €9.2 million.

The percentage of sanctioned lending breaks down as 55% to the east, 10.6% to the mid-west, 10.2% to the south west, 8% to the south east, 6.6% to the midlands, 5% to the west, 2.6% to the north east and 2% to the north west.

The most popular sectors in receipt of support include information and communications technology at 20.8%, wholesale-retail trade and repairs at 16.8%, manufacturing at 13.9% and human health and social work at 9%. I will provide the Deputies with charts showing the full breakdown of the regions and sectors supported by Microfinance Ireland and by the CGS.

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