Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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1. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the steps he has taken to date to ensure access to European Investment Bank funds for the development of agriculture, food processing, rural development and forestry; the progress made to date; when it is hoped these funds will be available to be applied for; the amount of the funds; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26199/15]

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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As the Minister knows, his erstwhile colleague, the ex-Minister and current Commissioner, Phil Hogan, was in town last week. He outlined to us the super-availability of European Investment Bank funds. What progress has been made to date in getting our hands on these funds? Will there be State co-funding, etc.? I am sure the Minister will give me a very comprehensive answer and we will have great news today.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I think we will have good news. The need for continued investment and support in the agrifood and forestry sector is well-established, and the recent approval of the forestry programme and the rural development programme are key supports in this regard. As a complement to the traditional grant-based approach to our schemes, the European Commission has announced that it plans to double the usage of financial instruments in co-funded programmes such as the RDP. Financial instruments can take the form of loans, guarantee funds or equity investments. The funding for any such financial instruments would have to draw on our existing RDP allocation of European agricultural fund or rural development funding as well as national Exchequer funding. It is also possible to incorporate funding from other sources, and it is in this context that the possibility of EIB funding has arisen.

In our RDP, we have made a commitment to examining the potential for the use of financial instruments. Accordingly, I have asked officials in my Department to engage with the European Commission, the EIB and other stakeholders to identify areas where financial instruments could be implemented to best strategic effect and to explore the practical steps which are required to implement financial instruments. Any such financial instruments are required by EU regulation to be structured on a clear investment strategy which identifies real market failures and economic needs.

In addition, my Department has been exploring new and more competitive sources of funding and will continue to do so in the context of evolving market requirements. For example, the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland, which includes the EIB, is one of the funding partners and has recently announced a new agriculture investment loans product. This credit is available at favourable terms for investment by agricultural SMEs involved in primary agricultural production, the processing of agricultural products or the marketing of agricultural products.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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Most people understand that what will be available are loans and the EIB money that is available is being made available to the agriculture and forestry sectors. I understand the Minister has to grant the money through some vehicle in Ireland if he is to proceed. Allowing for all the steps he has to take, such as negotiations and then establishing a vehicle through which to disburse the funds, will he indicate when he thinks farmers or those involved in forestry or processing - I take it all three are involved - might be able to apply for these funds? Are minimum and maximum amounts involved?

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The level of detail in terms of minimum and maximum amounts is not yet available. What is under discussion and quite close to agreement is a product involving large Irish dairy processors. They have been negotiating with the Commission and the EIB to try to make available a new finance product for loans for dairy expansion. Such loans would involve long-term repayment conditions at relatively low interest rates. There is a view that even though Irish banks currently make a lot of money available to agriculture, the competitive nature of interest rates linked to those loans does not compare favourably with other European countries. The EIB is anxious to put finance into the sector.

It will take us a little bit longer to consider how we can use the existing funds we have to spend on the rural development programme, which total more than €4 billion, to leverage loan facilities on the back of that. We had a conference in Dublin last week at which Commissioner Hogan spoke. I spoke at a meeting of the EIB and a series of other stakeholders also contributed. It is an area about which people are very excited and products will be available to farmers and the food industry in the not too distant future.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister. Many farmers have a very simple question and he knows what it is, that is, whether loan funding will be available to match the grants available under TAMS, for example, which is a capital investment scheme. Younger farmers, in particular, might find the interest rates of the current products available from financial institutions rather burdensome. Will the Minister indicate whether a three-month timescale is involved, allowing for the fact that Europe closes for August? Will funds not be available until 2016 to farmers under TAMS, for example? Will he indicate the interest rates involved? Will they be 3%, 4% or 5%? What will be the maximum loan periods? These are crucial questions on which people would like some indication at this stage.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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They are very fair questions. It would be irresponsible of me to start outlining the terms of what will be, in effect, a commercial loan facility for farmers. The idea would be that they would be made available at more competitive rates than are currently on offer. I have said many times that if one considers the current volume of lending by Irish banks into agriculture, in particular dairy, one will find it is very significant. I do not think it is as competitive as it could or should be compared with what farmers have available to them in other parts of Europe. We are encouraging the introduction of new financial products for Irish farmers. Only this week we announced a €50 million fund for the latest dairy TAMS product, TAMS II. There will be significant uptake of that, but we should not forget that people have three years to spend the money on their farms. There is no mad rush. People should apply and look for the best financial products. More financial products will be available before the end of the year.