Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have introduced a number of supports to assist farmers and the agrifood sector in preparing to address the challenges posed by Brexit. These include, most recently, the €300 million Brexit loan scheme for Brexit-impacted SMEs and mid-cap businesses whose funding arrangements ensure that at least 40% of the fund is available to food businesses. Up to 4 October 2019, 754 loans had been approved, of which 199, to the value of €44.1 million, had been sanctioned. Thirty-six of these, to the value of €9.29 million, related to food businesses and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation future growth loan scheme, which will make up to €300 million of long-term strategic investment loans available to eligible Irish businesses, including farmers and the agrifood and seafood sectors. Businesses have been able to apply for loan eligibility through the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland since 17 April. Up to 4 October 2019, 1,364 loans had been approved, including 530 to farmers and 163 to food companies. The total number of loans progressed to sanction at bank level is 296, to the value of €50.1 million.

In budget 2020 the Government announced that it will provide a no-deal contingency fund to support our most vulnerable sectors, with up to €650 million available overall, to be activated in tranches as the full impacts of Brexit emerge. A sum of €110 million will be made available for the agrifood sector in the first tranche, to be supplemented by any exceptional aid provided by the European Union.

The provision of immediate supports for our beef sector will be a first priority, as will support for our fishing fleet. We also want to support food companies to reorientate towards new products and markets and to support other sectors to improve their competitiveness.

While supports cannot fully address the negative effects of a no-deal Brexit for the agrifood and fisheries sectors, this first tranche of supports will be used to ameliorate the immediate impact on farmers and fishermen as the full impact of a no-deal Brexit crystallises and to make some of the adjustments needed to improve businesses' resilience in the face of new market realities.

See this speech in context