Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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203. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he will provide the retail sector with advanced notice of the lifting of restrictions to enable a safe reopening; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15935/21]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I understand this is an incredibly difficult time for families and businesses across the country and I would like to thank them for their efforts at this difficult time. By each of us following the spirit of the rules and working together we can hopefully ease some restrictions soon.

Decisions on reopening are made by Government based on health advice. I know that adequate notice is important for the sector and I will provide as much notice as possible based on the timing and nature of the decision by Government.

S.I. No. 701 of 2020 Health Act 1947 (Section 31A - Temporary Restrictions) (COVID-19) (No. 10) Regulations 2020 and S.I. No. 4 of 2021 Health Act 1947 (Section 31A - Temporary Restrictions) (COVID-19) (No. 10) (Amendment) Regulations 2021 () clearly sets out the temporary restrictions under Level 5. A list of essential services can be found at and the list of essential retail outlets at Level 5 can be found at .

Under Level 5, only essential retail outlets will remain open and all measures in Level 5 will stay in place until at least April 5 2021. Further information can be found on .

COVID-19 Resilience and Recovery 2021 - The Path Ahead  which can be found on , sets out the approach to the next phase, which is subject to ongoing review and taking into account the evolving epidemiological situation. All decisions taken by Government on the timing of any lifting of restrictions are informed by the public health advice at the time.

Minister English has met regularly with Retail Forum members and representatives from the retail grocery and distribution sector to continuously discuss and assess adherence to the public health restrictions.

The Government has introduced a wide range of supports to help businesses impacted by the COVID-19 crisis and they can be found on the Department’s website .

It is important to monitor gov.ie for the latest information, public health advice and guidelines from Government in relation to COVID-19.

Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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204. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment his views on reactivating the future growth loan scheme long-term loan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15936/21]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The Future Growth Loan Scheme makes lending available to SMEs and small mid-caps (up to 499 employees) seeking financing for long-term strategic investment, including in response to the impacts of Brexit and COVID-19.

The scheme was launched in 2019 and initially provided for up to €300m in long-term lending, however in July of 2020 it was expanded by €500m to make a total of €800m available through participating financial providers. As of 22 March 2021, 3,246 loans have been sanctioned through the Future Growth Loan Scheme to the value of €675.61 million.

Funding under the scheme is made available through commercial finance providers: AIB, Bank of Ireland, Ulster Bank, Permanent TSB, KBC and Close Brothers. The scheme has seen rapid uptake and as such the majority of the participating finance providers are currently closed to new applications as they process a “pipeline” of existing applicants. That pipeline is expected to amount to further tens of millions of lending through those participating providers.

At present, Close Brothers and KBC remain open to new applications. 

As noted above, this scheme makes funding available to businesses seeking to make long-term, strategic investments. That the uptake of the scheme has remained strong throughout the pandemic is a positive indication that businesses are looking beyond the difficulties of the last year. 

I would also encourage businesses seeking funding for investment to consider their options under the COVID-19 Credit Guarantee Scheme, which makes lending available at favourable terms to COVID-19-impacted businesses for terms up to five-and-a-half years. Loans under that scheme range from €10,000 to €1m and loans of up to €250,000 are available unsecured.