Twelve companies have applied to the €300m Brexit loan scheme, which is open to businesses that are either currently affected by Brexit or will be in the future, Minister for Business Heather Humphreys has said.

Speaking in response to a parliamentary question from Cavan-Monaghan TD Brendan Smith, she said she is very conscious of the potential exposure of the northwest and northeast regions to Brexit and the deep links with local economies on both sides of the border.

“Clearly, firms in the border area are more likely to be affected by Brexit and should seek to avail of this funding.

“I am pleased that 12 firms have already applied for working capital, at an interest rate of 4% under the scheme.

“I am also working with my colleague, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Marine, on proposals for a longer-term finance scheme in order that firms can invest for the future and increase productivity and incomes,” she said.

Loan details

Minister Humphreys did not divulge as to how much of the €300m scheme had been applied for or as to how much money has been drawn down to date under the scheme.

Companies applying to the scheme can apply for loan amounts from €25,000 to a maximum of €1.5m, with a loan term of up to three years.

Loans which come in under €500,000 are unsecured. The loans can be used to fund working capital requirements or to fund innovation, change or adapting the business to mitigate the impact of Brexit.

Low-cost loans

Meanwhile, as reported on Thursday, it will be late in the back-end of the year before farmers will be able to apply for the low-cost loan scheme promised to them under Budget 2018 last October.

Some €25m has been set aside under the budget as seed capital for the loan, but no decision has been made to date as to the size of the overall fund.

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