Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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150. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the status of the operation of the small business assistance scheme for Covid-19; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22193/21]

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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As you know, the Government has put in place a comprehensive package to help businesses and workers during the pandemic, including the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS), the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP), the COVID-19 Restrictions Support Scheme (CRSS), Small Business Assistance Scheme for COVID (SBASC), low-cost loans, the deferral and warehousing of tax liabilities and the waiver of commercial rates.

The Small Business Assistance scheme for COVID (SBASC), which is a scheme designed to support those businesses who are ineligible for CRSS and other sectoral schemes, opened for applications on 11th March.  This scheme has closed for applications on 21 April 2021.  My officials are in the process of undertaking a brief review of the scheme, and details of phase two of this scheme are due to be announced in the coming weeks.  

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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151. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the status of the operation of the sustaining enterprise fund; the number of jobs it has protected during the Covid-19 pandemic; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22194/21]

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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My Department, through Enterprise Ireland (EI), is helping Irish businesses to rebuild after the impact of Covid-19.  EI administers the Sustaining Enterprise Fund whose objectives include:

- Ensure eligible companies have access to the necessary liquidity

- Sustain business so that companies can return to viability and contribute to the recovery of the Irish economy.

- Ensure eligible companies can accelerate their recovery

- Provide funding needed to stabilise cashflow, adapt operations and innovate for new customer needs.

Enterprise Ireland is currently processing the 2020 applications received under the Sustaining Enterprise Fund. Approvals made to date, totalling €172,100,500, have helped to sustain 635 companies protecting 26,604 jobs.

Companies across all sectors operating in manufacturing and internationally traded service activities received and are receiving financial assistance under the Sustaining Enterprise Fund (SEF) including engineering, Life Sciences and construction, food and ICT and international services. This includes companies in particularly impacted sectors, including those engaged in food services (food delivery services, bakers, etc.), international education services, travel-tech and consumer-retail.

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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152. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the status of the operation of the COVID-19 credit guarantee scheme; the number of businesses that have availed of the scheme to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22195/21]

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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The COVID-19 Credit Guarantee Scheme is the largest loan guarantee scheme in the history of the State.The Scheme provides €2 billion in lending, for terms up to five-and-a-half years and offers a range of lending products between €10,000 and €1 million at interest rates below market rates for similar type loans.  It is available to SMEs and small mid-caps (business with less than 500 employees), including primary producers (businesses engaged in the farming and seafood sectors).  The Scheme is available until 31 December 2021 following a Government decision in March to extend it in line with the extension of the European Commission’s Temporary Framework on State Aid.

There have been 4,280 loans drawn for a value of €264.6 million under the Scheme up to 15 April (latest data available from participating lenders). These loans are being drawn from all over the country.  This scheme is providing vital access to lending facilities for a wide range of sectors.  Businesses which have been most impacted by the effects of the virus are utilising the Scheme.  The wholesale and retail sector accounted for twenty percent of loans drawn, the accommodation and food services sector accounted for fourteen percent of loans drawn, and the primary agriculture and fisheries sector accounted for twelve percent of loans drawn by value, demonstrating that funding is getting to where it is most needed.

In order to provide the public with relevant data on the performance of the scheme, my Department publishes weekly and monthly reports on its website.  These reports provide data on loans drawn under a wide variety of themes and are available at

These loans have helped maintain jobs across the economy during this very difficult time for business, with 22,951 jobs maintained up to the end of March with a potential of an increase of 3,488 jobs.

The Scheme is currently available through three commercial banks, four non-bank lenders and nineteen credit unions.  This long-term policy goal of diversification adds competition in the market and ensures a wide range of loan products are available throughout the regions.

I would strongly encourage businesses to avail of the low-cost lending facilities provided under the scheme as they look towards reopening.