Eurofound's EU PolicyWatch collates information on the responses of government and social partners to the COVID-19 crisis, the war in Ukraine, rising inflation, as well as gathering examples of company practices aimed at mitigating the social and economic impacts.
Factsheet for measure IE-2022-28/2899 – measures in Ireland
| Country | Ireland , applies nationwide |
| Time period | Temporary, 04 July 2022 – 31 December 2022 |
| Context | COVID-19 |
| Type | Other initiatives or policies |
| Category |
Supporting businesses to stay afloat
– Access to finance |
| Author | Roisin Farelly (IRN Publishing) and Eurofound |
| Measure added | 15 September 2022 (updated 07 July 2023) |
In July 2022 the Government launched a new loan scheme for SME businesses in certain sectors. Under the COVID-19 Loan Scheme, businesses will get access to low-cost finance. The Government said the new loan scheme is to help companies that are still getting back on their feet after the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The COVID-19 Loan Scheme is supported by a guarantee through the European Guarantee Fund (EGF), which is being implemented by the European Investment Fund (EIF) on behalf of the European Commission.
The COVID-19 Loan Scheme is available to eligible SMEs, including those in the farming, fishing and food sectors, to help with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The loans will be between €25,000 to €1.5 million and be available for terms of 1 to 6 years.
Loans can be used for:
To be eligible for the loan scheme, the business must have experienced an adverse impact of a minimum 15% in turnover or profit due to the impact of COVID-19.
Interest rates on loans provided under the Scheme will be lower than is otherwise typically available on similar lending in the market and will vary according to the lender.
The scheme will remain open to new applications until the end of 2022.
No information yet.
| Workers | Businesses | Citizens |
|---|---|---|
| Does not apply to workers |
Sector specific set of companies
SMEs |
Does not apply to citizens |
| Actors | Funding |
|---|---|
|
National government
|
European Funds
National funds National Recovery and Resilience Facility |
Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:
| Trade unions | Employers' organisations | |
|---|---|---|
| Role | No involvement | No involvement |
| Form | Not applicable | Not applicable |
Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:
No involvement.
N/A
This case is sector-specific (only private sector)
| Economic area | Sector (NACE level 2) |
|---|---|
| A - Agriculture, Forestry And Fishing | A1 Crop and animal production, hunting and related service activities |
| A2 Forestry and logging | |
| A3 Fishing and aquaculture | |
| I - Accommodation And Food Service Activities | I56 Food and beverage service activities |
This case is not occupation-specific.
Citation
Eurofound (2022), New COVID-19 loan scheme for farming, fishing and food sectors launched, measure IE-2022-28/2899 (measures in Ireland), EU PolicyWatch, Dublin, https://static.eurofound.europa.eu/covid19db/cases/IE-2022-28_2899.html
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Disclaimer: This information has not been subject to the full Eurofound evaluation, editorial and publication process.