Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Brexit Loan Scheme was launched in March of 2018 and provides relatively short-term working capital, for terms of up to three years, to eligible businesses with up to 499 employees to help them innovate, change or adapt to mitigate their Brexit challenges. 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 over the lifetime of the scheme.

This scheme is open to eligible businesses from all regions of the country, including those in the Border counties, which are more likely to be exposed to Brexit-related impacts. Dublin aside, the most recent quarterly report indicates that the border region is the most active region in terms of eligibility applications for the scheme. The funding provided by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine ensures that 40% of the fund will be made available to food businesses, which operate in a sector identified as most exposed to potential difficulties arising from the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.

As part of the application process for the Brexit Loan Scheme, applicants must demonstrate their exposure to Brexit. So far, the sectors most represented in these applications are manufacturing, wholesale and retail, and information and communication. As of 25 November, there have been 898 eligibility applications received, of which 810 have been approved and 214 loans progressed to sanction at bank level to a value of €46.68 million. It is noted also that 160 applications received relate to repeat/duplicate applications, as eligibility expires after six months.

The following table outlines the applications for the Brexit Loan Scheme on a per-county basis: