Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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188. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the amount of funding provided by his Department to provide financial credit to farmers; the title of the financial product; the purpose of the financial product; if such funding was recycled by issuing institutions or returned to his Department in each of the years 2016 to date in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60644/21]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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Access to finance is a crucial business need and, as well as liaising with the main banks on issues relating to the agri-food sector, my Department works closely across Government to provide important supports for businesses, including farmers, fishers and food businesses.

Most recently, this has been to ensure that they have access to finance during the pandemic and also to help deal with the challenges brought about by Brexit. These supports have been delivered with the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI).

The Schemes available to farmers to date are set out in the table below:

* In 2020, €4.6 million became available from the ACSLS and was used as part-funding for the FGLS. Future outflows from the ACSLS are expected as the Scheme winds down.

A payment of €5.5 million is due to be paid in 2021 for the BILS. A further €15m in funds recycled from the now closed “Brexit Loan Scheme” (which was not available to farmers) is expected to be allocated to the BILS in 2022.

The COVID 19 Credit Guarantee Scheme (CCGS) was established by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment with input from my Department. There was no upfront payment but my Department is liable for any defaults arising from the primary production sector.