Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

326. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of businesses that have availed of the Brexit loan scheme by county and by sector; and the average breakdown loaned between €25,000 and €1.5 million. [48937/18]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Brexit Loan Scheme provides affordable working capital to eligible businesses with up to 499 employees that are or will be impacted by Brexit and meet the scheme criteria. The €23 million exchequer funding (€14 million from my Department and €9 million from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine) has been leveraged to provide a fund of up to €300 million.

It has been designed to assist eligible Irish businesses in the short-term to deal with the challenges of Brexit, which include the pressures of increased market instability and currency volatility. The scheme is open to both State Agency clients and businesses that do not have any relationship with State Agencies. Sole traders may also apply.

The scheme features a two-stage application process. First, businesses must apply to the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI) to confirm their eligibility for the scheme. This application process requires businesses to use guidelines provided on the SBCI website to determine if they are eligible, and if so, to complete the eligibility form. As part of the process, businesses must submit a business plan, demonstrating the means by which they intend to innovate, change or adapt to meet the challenges posed by Brexit. Guidance is available on the SBCI website on how to complete a business plan. The SBCI assess the applications and successful applicants receive an eligibility reference number.

Successful applicants can then apply for a loan under the scheme with one of the participating finance providers. Participating finance providers are the Bank of Ireland, Ulster Bank and Allied Irish Bank. Approval of loans under the Brexit Loan Scheme is subject to the finance providers’ own credit policies and procedures.

The scheme was launched in March this year and, as of 23 November, there have been 307 applications received, with 270 deemed eligible and 54 loans progressed to sanction at finance provider level to a value of €12.51 million. This equates to an average loan value of approximately €231,700. These figures were issued as an interim update from the SBCI.

The SBCI issues a detailed report on a quarterly basis, which includes county level breakdown and sector breakdown. The figures below are those as at the most recent quarterly report, dated 02 October 2018: