Just 38 businesses have received the green light to draw down money from the banks under the €300m Brexit loan scheme, a spokesperson for the Department of Business has told the Irish Farmers Journal.

The 38 businesses have progressed to sanction at bank level to a value of €8.5m. As of 12 October, some 262 applications were received by the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI), which operates the scheme on behalf of the Departments of Business and Agriculture.

Of the 262 applications, 224 have been approved by SBCI as eligible and have been given an eligibility reference number.

They can then proceed to one of the participating finance providers (Bank of Ireland, Ulster Bank and AIB) to apply for a loan under the scheme using this eligibility reference number.