Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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184. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of applications received to date to the recently launched Brexit loan scheme for food businesses specifically by company size (details supplied); the number of applications approved and not approved, respectively, to date by firm size; and the number of loans granted to date in tabular form. [23031/18]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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One of my priorities is to improve access to finance for the agri-food sector. Food Wise 2025 identifies competiveness as a key theme and includes a recommendation that stakeholders work to “improve access to finance for agriculture, forestry and seafood producers and agri-food companies”.  

Recently I launched the new “Brexit Loan Scheme” in cooperation with the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation and the Minister for Finance, which will provide up to €300 million of affordable, flexible working capital finance to Irish businesses that are either currently impacted by Brexit or who will be in the future. The Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI) are administering the Scheme and use the €23million in public funding, along with the EIB Group’s InnovFin SME Guarantee Facility, to leverage the loan fund. Given its significant exposure to the UK market, my Department has contributed €9million, ensuring at least 40% of the fund will be available to food businesses. This is the only sector that has ring-fenced funding. 

The Scheme was opened on the 31st March 2018 and will remain open until 31st March 2020, or until it is fully subscribed.  The SBCI receives and analyses loan data from the participating banks on a quarterly basis. SBCI have informed my Department that the first official data relating to the Scheme will be available on completion of its first quarter, i.e. to 30th June 2018.