Large Amounts of SME Government Supports Not Making it to Small Businesses
Aontú Leader & Meath West TD Peadar Tóibín has called for more efficient delivery of financial supports to SMEs, particularly given the overly aggressive government restrictions forcing them to close.
Tóibín: “The financial supports for SMEs are available on paper, but in many cases not in practice. My office has procured documents outlining the total number of financial supports available, the monies allocated to those supports and the approval/take up rates.
“At a time when thousands of small to medium business are closing for good, thousands of SMEs are turned down for financial supports. A No Deal Brexit catastrophe is less than two months away, we are in the midst of a Coronavirus Second Wave, and the government has imposed the 6th most severe restrictions on Irish businesses on the planet, yet the government still penny pinches when it comes to giving SMEs the bare minimum to survive.”
“Under the Covid-19 Working Capital Scheme, only 915 loans of 3,935 applications were approved – with a mere 27.5% of funding under the scheme being sent to SMEs.
With a ‘No Deal’ Brexit less than 2 months away, a mere 279 loans out 1,205 applications have been approved – with only 13.2% of funding under that scheme paid out.
Of the Covid-19 Loan Scheme, only €3.11 million in €25k loans have been paid out from the €15 million funding allocation.
In funding under the Online Retail Scheme, less than 50% of allocations were approved due to inadequate allocation of funding.
The government afforded a meagre €2 million to the online retail scheme when they have consistently shut down businesses over the past 8 months, meaning Irish retailers can’t even afford to explore or set up an online retail outlet for themselves.
Under the Sustaining Enterprise Fund of €180 million, only a 108 of 639 applications were approved meaning approximately a 25% of available funding has been paid out to date.
The list goes on with inordinately high rates of rejections, and low pay out/approval rates across the board.”
“There is an urgency here. The government need to get their act together. The Irish government is not in this together with SMEs. For many small businesses this is an illusion. The funding available in many cases is only on paper, with the truth being obstacles, qualifications and restrictions on the path to SMEs getting a few shillings and a pat on the head from the government.”
Please see PQ detail attached.
Funds.Breakdown.TakeUp-1
