Written answers

Thursday, 18 September 2014

Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation

Departmental Funding

Photo of Terence FlanaganTerence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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98. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the position regarding grants to assist in buying a company in respect of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 13; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34922/14]

Photo of Richard BrutonRichard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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The Development Agencies of my Department do not provide financial support to individuals for the buying out of a company.

With regard to access to finance, the Government introduced 2 new schemes in 2012 to assist businesses who have been declined bank credit. Both the Credit Guarantee Scheme and the Microenterprise Loan Fund represent a significant change in our enterprise supports with both supports available to locally traded sectors, in view of their crucial role in job creation. The SME Credit Guarantee Scheme offers a Government guarantee for bank loans up to €1 million (through AIB, Bank of Ireland and Ulster Bank) and the Microenterprise Loan Fund offers loans to microenterprises for up to €25,000 (through Microfinance Ireland).

In terms of the day to day development of the business, the Agencies offer a range of supports for qualifying firms in manufacturing or internationally traded services.

Any business can use the LEOs as a gateway to accessing finance from Micro Finance Ireland (MFI), which offers support in the form of loans of up to €25,000 to start-up, newly established or growing microenterprises employing less than 10 people with viable business propositions that do not meet the conventional risk criteria applied by the banks. The Fund available to MFI has a significant entrepreneurship focus and is open to anyone with a viable business proposal. Applications for the Microfinance Fund should be channelled through the local LEO.

For an enterprise located in the North Dublin area, the LEO Dublin City would be the relevant Office, contact details for which are as follows: Local Enterprise Office Dublin City, Block 4, Floor 1, Civic Offices, Wood Quay, Dublin 8, tel: 01-222 5611/2, email: info@leo.dublincity.ie, website: www.localenterprise.ie/dublincity.

The businessman concerned can also access the new online search tool for SME business supports that was launched last May. The Supporting SMEs Online Tool is a cross-governmental initiative to help Irish start-ups and small businesses navigate the range of Government business supports for which they could be eligible. By answering the 8 questions in the Tool, a small business will, in one location be able to:

- Find out which of the over 80 Government business supports from 27 different Government Departments, Agencies and Initiatives are available to them

- obtain information on the range of Government supports for accessing credit

- identify their nearest Local Enterprise Office where they can discuss the outcomes of the guide further

- download all these filtered results into a document for their further use.

The Supporting SMEs Online Tool is available at: www.localenterprise.ie/smeonlinetool.

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