Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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41. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment to provide an overview of the various credit guarantee and loan schemes for businesses initiated by his Department since July 2020; the benefits and impacts of these schemes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30039/24]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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My Department is committed to helping Irish businesses with targeted interventions and supports including State supported loan schemes to help address market failures in the area of access to finance and to assist SMEs in times of crisis.

Loan schemes developed by my Department since July 2020 include the Future Growth Loan Scheme (FGLS) launched in 2019 at €300m and expanded to €800m in July 2020; COVID-19 Credit Guarantee Scheme (CCGS) launched in September 2020; The Brexit Impact Loan Scheme launched in October 2021; and COVID-19 Loan Scheme launched in June 2022. These schemes are now closed to new lending.

Two other schemes, namely the Ukraine Credit Guarantee Scheme launched in January 2023 and the Growth and Sustainability Loan Scheme launched in September 2023 are currently open to lending.

Together, these loan schemes have formed an integral part of assisting Irish SMEs, to respond to the recent economic shocks; to ensure increasing productivity levels to maintain and increase competitiveness of the Irish SME base; and to address other core policy agendas such as climate action.

• A total of 3,507 loans valued at €767.8m were drawn under the FGLS which closed on 31st March 2023.
• In response to the pandemic, the COVID-19 Credit Guarantee Scheme assisted businesses by making reduced cost loans available for working capital and investment purposes. 9,856 loans valued at €708.7m were provided under this scheme. The scheme closed on 30 June 2022 and helped maintain over 81,000 jobs in a time of global crisis.
• The Brexit Impact Loan Scheme (BILS) launched in October 2021 to replace the Brexit Loan Scheme was designed to address the impact of Brexit on SMEs and small midcaps. 1,929 loans valued at €260m was drawn under the scheme. The BILS closed in December 2022.
• The COVID-19 Loan Scheme was developed in response to the closure of the COVID-19 Credit Guarantee Scheme in 2022. 273 loans amounting to €27.4m were drawn under the scheme, which closed in December 2022.
• The Ukraine Credit Guarantee Scheme launched in January 2023 and is available until 31 December 2024. €1.2 billion is available in loans through participating lenders. Loans of up to €1 million are available at reduced cost to businesses impacted by increased costs due to Russia’s aggression in Ukraine. 3,123 loans valued at €274 million have been drawn down under this scheme up to the end of May 2024.
• The Growth and Sustainability Loan Scheme launched in September 2023 provides loans from €25,000 to €3 million, with terms of up to 10 years and loans of up to €500,000 available unsecured. The scheme targets a minimum of 30% of the lending volume towards environmental sustainability purposes encouraging SMEs to take positive actions to support the climate change agenda. Up to 70% of lending is for strategic investments aiming to increase productivity and competitiveness thus underpinning future business sustainability and growth. Loans for climate action and environmental sustainability purposes will benefit from an additional interest rate discount. 391 loans valued at €62,84m have been sanctioned up to 31 May 2024. The Growth and Sustainability Loan Scheme will operate until 30 June 2026 or until the scheme has been fully subscribed (whichever is earlier).