Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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179. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment his views on providing sector specific grants administered by Enterprise Ireland and local enterprise offices for English language teaching organisations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19389/21]

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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In response to Government pandemic guidelines all English Language Schools were asked to close on March 13^th, 2020 . As an industry that relies entirely on international students and travel, the peak months of March-September account for c.70% of revenue and that this was a devastating blow to the sector.

English language teaching organisations that are international traded services are eligible for Enterprise Ireland support.

The key financial instrument available to support these companies through the Covid-19 pandemic was the Sustaining Enterprise Fund (SEF), which was designed to provide companies with investment support to help businesses rebuild after the impact of Covid-19 by providing the funding needed to stabilise cashflow, adapt their operations and support a recovery plan. A non-repayable grant of up to 50% of a funding package (up to €200K) is available on packages between €100K and €800K.

To date, payments of approx. €2.1 million have been made to 12 English Language teaching organisations.

The Department of Further & Higher Education, Innovation and Science continues to work closely with the sector in a dedicated working group and my Department’s agency, Enterprise Ireland, is represented on this group.