Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin Bay North, Labour)
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23. To ask the Minister for Trade, Enterprise and Employment the number of applications to date under the Brexit loan scheme by month; the number of successful applications to date; the reason for applications not being successful; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40575/20]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The Brexit Loan Scheme makes available working capital lending to eligible businesses that are or will be exposed to impacts arising from the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.

The scheme features a two-stage application process, whereby businesses must first apply to the SBCI to confirm their eligibility under the scheme. Successful applicants are issued an eligibility reference number, which they can then use to make a loan application to a participating finance provider.

Uptake of the Brexit Loan Scheme is reported on a quarterly basis, and so the table below sets out the number of eligibility applications, the number of loans sanctioned at bank level and the value of loans sanctioned to the end of each quarter since the launch of the scheme. While my Department is waiting for final data for Q3 2020, it is known that there has been little additional uptake of the Brexit Loan Scheme in Q3 of this year as businesses have diverted their attention to dealing with the impacts of COVID-19.

It should be noted that a proportion of the eligibility applications are reapplications from businesses that have previously been approved. Repeat applications typically arise where an applicant’s eligibility approval has expired (six months after issuing) and the applicant applies for eligibility renewal.

To date, only 23 (2%) of the 1,175 applicants have been deemed ineligible for the scheme. Generally, this has been because they failed to meet either the Brexit-exposure criteria or the Innovation criteria under the scheme, because their sector is ineligible for the scheme, or because of an error in the application form (businesses may reapply to correct an error).

Loan approvals under the scheme are subject to the participating finance providers' own credit policies and procedures.

I am conscious that the delays to the Brexit process may have caused businesses to defer their Brexit preparations, and that the added disruption of the pandemic has meant that many businesses have had to focus their efforts on successfully navigating an unforeseeable crisis.

However, Brexit will mean change for Irish businesses. I am encouraging businesses to carefully consider their exposure to Brexit-related impacts, to take the necessary steps to insulate themselves from those impacts, and to ensure they continue to trade after 1 January. Government has now approved an extension to the Brexit Loan Scheme so that it will remain in place to provide an appropriate access to finance option for Brexit impacted businesses throughout 2021.

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin Bay North, Labour)
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24. To ask the Minister for Trade, Enterprise and Employment the value of successful applicationsunder the Brexit loan scheme by month; the average loan value; the largest size of loans; if a list of successful applicants will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40576/20]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The Brexit Loan Scheme makes available working capital lending to eligible businesses that are or will be exposed to impacts arising from the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.

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. For example, there is no security required on loans of up to €500,000 and loans under the scheme are offered at a maximum interest rate of 4%, which represents a significant saving compared to other similar lending available in the market.

As of the most recent quarterly report, the average value of loans approved under the scheme is approximately €201,700, with a small number of loans at the maximum value permitted under the scheme of €1.5m. There are no plans to publish a list of successful applicants, as this would constitute commercially sensitive information.

Uptake of the Brexit Loan Scheme is reported on a quarterly basis, and so the table below sets out the total value of loans approved to the end of each quarter since its launch. While my Department is waiting for final data for Q3 2020, it is known that there has been little additional uptake of the Brexit Loan Scheme in Q3 of this year.

I am conscious that the delays to the Brexit process may have caused businesses to defer their Brexit preparations, and that the added disruption of the pandemic has meant that many businesses have had to focus their efforts through much of 2020 on successfully navigating an unforeseeable crisis.

However, Brexit will mean change for Irish businesses. I am encouraging businesses to carefully consider their exposure to Brexit-related impacts, to take the necessary steps to insulate themselves from those impacts, and to ensure they continue to trade after 1 January. Government has now approved an extension for this scheme so that it will remain available throughout 2021 to help SMEs and small midcaps with their liquidity needs arising from Brexit .

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin Bay North, Labour)
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25. To ask the Minister for Trade, Enterprise and Employment the projected number of applicants for the MFI Brexit business loan; the value of loans expected to be issued by the end of 2020; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40577/20]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The Microenterprise Loan Fund operated by Microfinance Ireland assists businesses that have less than ten employees and have an annual turnover up to €2 million. It provides much-needed funding to help microenterprises meet payments for stock, working capital requirements and other overhead expenses through the provision of low-cost lending facilities.

Microfinance Ireland provides vital support to microenterprises by filling the lending gap in the market by lending to business that cannot obtain loans from other commercial lenders. It lends to business that do not meet the conventional risk criteria applied by commercial lenders and applies interest rate charges for its lending which are not reflective of its credit risk.

The new Microfinance Ireland (MFI) Brexit Business Loan which was launched on 23 November, will provide up to €25,000 to businesses whose turnover already is or is likely to fall 15% or more or if the business has a short term cashflow need as a result of Brexit. Loans are available for between 6 months and 3 years with an Interest rate of 4.5% available to all micro-enterprises where the application is made through the Local Enterprise Network or referred by a bank or Local Development Committees. The rate for direct applications to Microfinance Ireland is 5.5%.

As this scheme has only been in operation for a week it is not yet possible to determine the potential uptake by year end. There are indications that small businesses in particular are still waiting for a clearer picture of the terms that will apply to the UK’s exit agreement before making their own commitments. Microenterprises have a number of supports available to them through the LEO network and MFI in relation to dealing with the impacts of both COVID-19 and Brexit. Their business decisions to avail of these loans and other supports will depend on the market conditions experienced in the months ahead. For the clients of MFI, it is expected that this loan will be primarily used to avoid supply chain disruption and importations as opposed to exporting companies. MFI will have adequate funding to support micro businesses affected by Brexit as a result of increased allocations of Exchequer funding throughout 2020.

This scheme has been made available as an additional support to business to help reduce the negative impacts of Brexit and will continue to be available into 2021. I can assure the Deputy that officials from my Department will continue to work with MFI to ensure promotion of the Scheme to a wide variety of audiences.