Seán Kyne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State is welcome to the Chamber. I welcome the publication of this legislation and the opportunity to say a few words on it. As the Tánaiste has highlighted, this scheme will be the largest credit guarantee scheme for businesses in the history of the State. That is not by accident. The impact Covid-19 continues to have on businesses of all types and sizes in Ireland is unprecedented.It demands an unprecedented response from the Government and for all of us in the Houses to do everything we can to protect jobs and businesses throughout the country. This scheme is different in that it is targeted primarily at SMEs as well as the agribusiness and marine sectors.

The importance of SMEs to our country cannot be overstated. Last year, the Seanad Public Consultation Committee compiled a report on small and medium-sized business in Ireland. That report, on which some of my colleagues worked, examined the SME landscape in Ireland, the challenges and stresses facing SMEs, the type of supports needed and the opportunities. The report emphasised that the SME sector is the backbone of the economy. It is the main source of jobs and enterprises, in that SMEs operate in a wide range of sectors. The data back up these facts. For example, in Galway, more than 92% of businesses are microenterprises that employ fewer than ten people, and more than 50,000 people in the city and county work for an SME. It is clear the new guarantee scheme will benefit the vast majority of businesses and, in turn, workers in Galway should it be needed. Another important observation from the report is that larger companies and multinationals have access to funding from international sources so when there are difficulties in accessing credit and financial support domestically, SMEs are the businesses that suffer. Through the credit guarantee scheme the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland will support the provision of financial products through AIB, Bank of Ireland and Ulster Bank to SMEs whose actual or projected turnover or profit has been impacted by a minimum of 15%.

Earlier this week, following lengthy negotiations, a €1.8 trillion agreement, including at a new seven-year budget and Covid support package, was agreed by the European Council. It is timely, therefore, to note the credit guarantee scheme will operate through the EU's temporary framework for state aid measures to support the economy in the current Covid-19 outbreak. While I fully understand the need for a level playing field in the Single Market, in my time as a public representative I have seen up close the negative impacts that state aid rules can have. That communities in the west, such as Gaeltacht areas and islands, face completely different challenges to communities in the conurbations of the continent cannot be ignored. These challenges exist at the best of times. At the worst of times, they can mean the demise of businesses and jobs with knock-on consequences for communities.

The recent developments regarding vaccines, particularly from Oxford, are very encouraging but we need to accept that Covid-19 will continue to be a serious challenge for our country, and for all countries, for some time to come. Use of the word "current" in the EU framework to describe the Covid-19 outbreak is an acknowledgement that a solution to Covid-19 is not imminent. In this context, the time limit of the end of this year for lending under the guarantee scheme is a concern. It would provide much needed certainty for businesses if we agreed that section 5(2) be extended until the end of 2021. Is it is anticipated, based on the calculations, that the fund will be exhausted by the end of the year? What direct engagement with businesses will the Department have on awareness and promotion of the fund? I certainly welcome the Bill and the fund it incorporates, as agreed by the Government last May.