Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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183. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the capital, current and total 2023 budget allocation for the crisis response business financial planning grant, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5383/23]

Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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The Crisis Response Business Financial Planning Grant funded through Enterprise Ireland is a strategic intervention to assist companies to prepare a detailed financial plan and to assess the impact of currently emerging impacts on their business.

The grant offers up to €5,000 (100% of expenditure) for an engagement with an approved external consultant to:

- understanding the impact of the war in Ukraine, increases in input and energy costs, currency fluctuations and supply chain disruptions on working capital

- understanding any immediate liquidity issues (if any)

- creating a financial plan to secure external finance (if required)

- developing a framework to manage the finances of the business.

The offer seeks to encourage companies to be proactive in developing a detailed financial plan that identifies funding needs and potential sources of funding.

I can confirm that the grant is funded through Enterprise Ireland’s A7 Capital Budget as one of the constituent programmes funded from the financial supports to Industry allocation of €30 million.

The total amount approved in 2022 in respect to the crisis response business financial planning grant was €94,527.00

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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184. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the amount of funding allocated to restructuring options or rescue processes for businesses in 2021, 2022 and to date in 2023, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5384/23]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Taking into account the limited financial resources available to the State, and in line with the priorities established under our national enterprise policy including the recent White Paper on Enterprise, the financial assistance made available by Government encourages enterprises, especially in the internationally traded sectors, to grow by building their competitiveness, resilience and sustainability.

In the Companies Act 2014 as amended, Ireland has a modern legislative framework that offers a range of restructuring options that can be considered by companies to ensure orderly and timely debt restructuring.

The main corporate recovery process for companies in Ireland is the long-standing and internationally recognised examinership framework. This court-supervised process is available to insolvent companies that have a reasonable prospect of survival. The court places the company under its protection for a period of up to 100 days to enable an insolvency practitioner put in place proposals for a scheme which sets out the blueprint for the company’s pathway out of debt and its survival.

The 2014 Act also provides for a Scheme of Arrangement which is a process that can be used by a company in financial difficulty to reach a binding agreement with its creditors to pay back all, or part, of its debts over an agreed timeline. Where resolutions approving the scheme are passed at the meetings of shareholders and creditors, the company must apply to the High Court for the scheme to be sanctioned.

Company law is dynamic and the State's corporate rescue toolkit has been expanded in recent times with the introduction of the Small Company Administrative Rescue Process for small and micro companies. This process makes rescue and restructuring quicker, more accessible and affordable to fundamentally viable companies experiencing temporary difficulties. The availability of the process as a means to restructure can also encourage creditors to engage constructively with companies in distress further diminishing the necessity to enter into the process.

The 2014 Act has also been amended by the Companies (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Covid 19) Act 2020 to provide a breathing space to companies facing financial difficulties in a difficult trading environment by addressing temporary operational issues and alleviating pressure on company liquidity.

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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185. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the capital, current and total 2023 budget allocation for the future growth loan scheme, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5385/23]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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There is no 2023 Budget allocation for the Future Growth Loan Scheme (FGLS) in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment Vote, as set out in the following table: 

The FGLS was launched in June 2019 to provide an option for SMEs and small mid-caps to access appropriate finance for investment purposes. The scheme initially provided for up to €300m in long-term lending. In July of 2020 it was expanded by €500m to make a total of €800m available through participating financial providers. In partnership with the European Investment Bank Group, the scheme is operated by the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland and is funded by the Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

All the participating lenders are now closed to new applications under the FGLS indicating that they are of the view that they have received sufficient applications to use their full allocation under the scheme. Final use of allocations to participating finance providers may be impacted by decisions on loan approval and customer decisions to draw or not draw the approved loans. As of 30^thJanuary 2023, there have been 3,513 loans progressed to sanction under the scheme, to a total value of €773.9m.

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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187. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the capital, current and total 2023 budget allocation for the skills for better business scheme, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5387/23]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Budget Allocation for Skills for Better Business (Online Tool)

Skills for Better Business was launched on 30^thNovember 2022.  It is a two-part initiative aimed at assisting SME owners and managers across Ireland. It comprises an Online Tool for management skills assessment, complemented by a sign-posting resource providing contact information for management education and training providers across the country. 

The upskilling of SMEs is a high priority for my Department.  In particular, research has shown that the firms that invest in management development have higher productivity, better survival rates and innovate more.  In October 2020, the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs (EGFSN) published Leading the Way, a report on SME Management Skills and Practices.  The report points to the need for management development to become a real strategic priority for SMEs if they are to grow and prosper.

The Online Tool is designed to make it easy for time-poor SME owners and managers to carry out an initial assessment of their own management skills.  Once they complete the questionnaire, they receive a short report detailing where they may need to focus.  They are then directed to the Skills for Better Business: Courses and Contacts pages on the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment’s website to find a training or education provider to support them in the next steps of their journey. The focus is to provide an easy-to-understand summary of what is provided and to direct the reader to a contact person who can support and assist them in identifying the training and education they need. 

The 14 project partners involved in delivering Skills for Better Business are: the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment; Skillnet Ireland; Enterprise Ireland; SOLAS; the Small Firms Association (SFA); ISME; the Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs); the Regional Skills Fora; the Higher Education Authority (HEA); the Higher Education Colleges Association (HECA); Chambers Ireland; Education and Training Boards Ireland (ETBI); the Irish Universities Association (IUA); and the Technological Higher Education Association (THEA).

The direct cost of the Online Tool, at €60,300, is only a small part of the resource input into the project.  Different sub-groups of the 14 partners worked on the Online Tool, the Courses & Contacts pages, and the Comms Strategy for the project.  The contribution in time and expertise from all involved was very substantial throughout.  These organisations have therefore absorbed much of the cost of the project through their collaboration in its delivery.The project is set to continue in a similar manner in 2023, the focus being to maintain and promote the website on which the online tool is located.

Skills for Better Business is currently being promoted by the project partners, led by my Department.  It is important that the message gets out to SME owners and managers across Ireland that Skills for Better Business is now launched and its resources are available.  We want SMEs to make use of the Online Tool and engage with management education and training providers to identify the courses they need to improve their management skills and practices.