Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

164. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if there are small business loans available to a publican and restaurant owner who is under ongoing financial pressure as a result of the Covid-19-related lockdowns, particularly in relation to meeting mortgage and loan repayment due to the period of reduced operations and revenues; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49541/22]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

This is a difficult time for many businesses, especially those businesses heavily impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic and facing an uncertain future in light of recent global developments.

My Department introduced the Covid-19 Loan Scheme (the ‘CLS’)on 4^thJuly 2022 to ensure that an appropriate option for access to finance remained in place for Covid-19 impacted SMEs.

The Scheme is aimed at helping vulnerable but viable businesses to continue to trade so that they can survive through these turbulent times, including maintaining employment levels, which is crucial for society and the economy. Finance provided is competitively priced and some refinance can be availed of to address existing short-term credit needs.

Access to this scheme is based on businesses meeting a criterion of being impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, resulting in business turnover or profit being negatively impacted by a minimum of 15%.

Applications for eligibility are firstly made to the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (the ‘SBCI’) and the CLS is available for a wide range of sectors and activities.

Lending under the CLS is available from AIB, Permanent Tsb and Metamo Credit Unions (Access CU, Cara CU, St. Canice’s CU, St. Francis CU, and Savvi CU).

Also, ‘the Covid-19 Loan’, available from Microfinance Ireland (MFI), is a support to microenterprises (business with fewer than 10 employees and/or turnover less than €2 million) to help them access funding arising from the Covid-19 crisis. These loans are available for eligible microenterprises responding to Covid-19-related difficulties, the negative impact of which must be a minimum of 15% of actual or projected income or profit.

The MFI Covid-19 Loan Scheme includes a six-month repayment free moratorium, with interest rates as low as 4.5% for the remaining period of the loan.

MFI provides vital support to microenterprises by filling the lending gap in the market by lending to businesses that cannot obtain loans from other commercial lenders. It lends to businesses 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.