Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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83. To ask the Taoiseach the estimated cost of an additional €100 million in Brexit related loans offered by the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland if approved to the Irish State; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50916/17]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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85. To ask the Taoiseach the costing of the Brexit loan scheme announced in budget 2018; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50923/17]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 83 and 85 together.

The Brexit Loan Scheme announced during Budget 2018 will provide affordable working capital financing to eligible Irish businesses that are either currently impacted by Brexit, or will be in the future. The Scheme will be delivered by the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI) through commercial lenders to get much needed working capital into Irish businesses.

The Exchequer cost of the Brexit Loan Scheme will be €23 million, with the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation contributing €14 million and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine contributing €9 million. The combined €23 million will be used by the SBCI to leverage the €300 million to be offered to SMEs through the Brexit Loan Scheme.

The €300 million fund is underpinned by a counter-guarantee from the European Commission and EIB Group through its InnovFin Loan Guarantee Scheme, which is an important factor when assessing both the cost of the Scheme and the risk to the Exchequer. There is no additional capacity under the existing terms of the counter-guarantee scheme which has been agreed with InnovFin. The cost of an increase in the size of the Scheme would depend on a number of factors, including whether, and at what terms, increased capacity under the counter-guarantee could be agreed.