Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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155. To ask the Minister for Trade, Enterprise and Employment the position regarding the SBCI Covid-19 working capital loan scheme; the total number of applications; the number of successful applications and the value of same; the number of unsuccessful applications and the value of same; the number of ineligible applications; and the breakdown of same by county and lending institution in tabular form. [38770/20]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Since the onset of COVID-19, Government has worked to ensure that appropriate supports are in place for businesses as they seek to navigate the disruptions this has brought to their trading environments. The COVID-19 Working Capital Scheme makes funding available to eligible businesses that have been negatively impacted by the pandemic.

This scheme was developed in cooperation between the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. It is operated by the SBCI through participating finance providers. Loans under the scheme range from €25,000 to €1.5m for terms of up to three years and are offered at favourable terms compared to otherwise similar lending in the market. These loans are offered at a maximum interest rate of 4% and there is no requirement for security on loans of up to €500,000.

The scheme features a two-stage application process. Businesses must first apply to the SBCI to confirm their eligibility for the scheme. If successful, they are issued an eligibility reference number, which they can then use to apply for lending with a participating finance provider. Loans under the scheme are subject to the banks' own credit policies and procedures.

Some of the details requested have not been included as they may include commercially sensitive information or fall outside the scheme's reporting. The total number of applications for eligibility under the scheme to date (20 November) is 3,999, of which 3,562 have so far been deemed eligible. Of those, 930 have so far progressed to sanction at bank level, to a total value of €119.54m.

More granular data, including a per-county breakdown, is provided by the SBCI as part of its quarterly reports. The breakdown of eligibility application and loans sanctioned per county as of the most recent quarterly report (30 June) is shown in the table below.