Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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93. To ask the Minister for Finance the number of businesses that have applied for loans under the Ukraine credit guarantee scheme to date by county; the number of applications that have been successful by county; the estimated value or worth of the loans to date for each county, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4971/23]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Ukraine Credit Guarantee Scheme (UCGS) was established by S.I. 641/2022 in December 2022. The Scheme will unlock up to €1.2 billion of low-cost, unsecured working capital and send a strong signal of support to SMEs, small Mid-Caps, and primary producers affected by the Ukraine crisis. The UCGS is a loan guarantee scheme that is being delivered by the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI) via on-lenders in the financial sector.

The Scheme was officially launched on Monday, 30 January 2023, with the entry of the first on lender into the market. No applications had been finalised by close of business on Monday.

In order to qualify for the Scheme, the borrower will have to declare that costs have increased by a minimum of 10% on their 2020 figures and that the loan is being sought specifically as a result on difficulties being experienced due to the Ukraine crisis. Loan facilities ranging from €10K to €1 million will be available. Loans of up to €250,000 can be unsecured and can be used for overdrafts, working capital and term loan facilities.