Poor take up of Credit Guarantee Scheme Loans must be examined
- Clear that loan schemes have failed so far to support Irish enterprises.
- Only half of applicants have been approved and €53m drawdown.
With the government extending the €2bn Credit Guarantee Scheme by six months and further promoting the Brexit loan scheme, Labour Enterprise spokesperson Aodhán Ó Ríordáin said that there must be an examination of why the take up has been so poor eight months into the crisis.
Deputy Ó Ríordáin said:
“There has been much fanfare from the government about their €2 billion Covid-19 credit guarantee scheme, but the take up of loans has been really poor to date. Today the deadline for the Covid-19 credit guarantee scheme (CGS) has been extended by six months and the government is indicating that now an average of 180 businesses are drawing down loans a week.
“However recent figures reported by the Irish Independent show that just half of applicants have been approved and only €53m of loans have been drawn down from the available €2 billion, while yesterday Fine Gael was heavily promoting the available Brexit loans for small businesses.
“What we’ve said from the beginning of the pandemic, and also over the years we’ve been dealing with Brexit is that it is clear that loan schemes don’t seem to work for a lot of Irish businesses who are reluctant to take on debt to deal with these twin crises.
“While the Minister is now promoting that there has been increased interest in recent weeks there should be an examination and analysis of why take up has been so low considering the unprecedented challenges faced by Irish businesses.
ENDS