Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)

I thank Deputy Conway-Walsh for this very important question. I firmly commit to ensuring that small- and medium-sized businesses have access to affordable credit. My Department has developed several loan guarantee schemes, the first in 2012, that have enabled participating lenders to offer loans at interest rates below their standard commercial terms.

The scheme currently open to SMEs is the growth and sustainability loan scheme. This is a €500 million initiative developed by my Department and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, underpinned by a partial guarantee from the European Investment Bank Group and the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland, SBCI. The SBCI also operates the scheme. This scheme offers long-term loans ranging from €25,000 to €3 million, with terms of up to ten years, to SMEs, farmers, fishers, and small mid-caps. Loans of up to €500,000 are available on an unsecured basis, making finance more accessible for SMEs.

Interest rates under the scheme are determined by each participating finance provider, in accordance with its own credit policies. However, all rates must reflect the benefit of the EU-backed guarantee and SBCI support, ensuring they are below standard commercial lending rates. In practice, participating lenders offer discounts ranging from 1% to 4.86% compared to their equivalent SME loan rates, making credit more available. A minimum of 30% of the scheme's lending is targeted at environmental sustainability and climate action, with the remainder supporting productivity and competitiveness. Loans for climate-related purposes also benefit from an additional interest rate discount.

As of the end of June, 1,930 loans had been approved, amounting to €432 million, by my Department and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. We are negotiating with the EIB Group and the SBCI on the potential to extend the duration and expand the capacity of the loan. I plan to bring proposals to the Government in the next three months.

See this speech in context