Government supports to COVID-19 impacted businesses

The spread of the COVID-19 virus has the potential to significantly impact Irish businesses.

We want to assure businesses that the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation and its agencies stand ready to support businesses impacted by disruption related to this outbreak. The Department welcomes the announcement by the three main banks that they will support Irish businesses through this period.

We encourage businesses to use all available Government supports to help them respond to this emergent situation. To that end, we want to highlight the following supports available to impacted businesses to help them to weather the working capital and liquidity issues arising from the outbreak. Issues around Covid-19 are complex and impacts may vary depending on your business.

€200m in funding is available under the SBCI COVID-19 Working Capital Loan Scheme, for eligible businesses impacted by COVID-19. Loans of up to €1.5m will be available with up to the first €500,000 unsecured. Funding under the scheme is easy to access, competitively priced and offered at favourable terms. The maximum interest rate is 4% and loans are for terms of up to 3 years. Businesses can apply through the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland’s website at sbci.gov.ie.

A €200m Package for Enterprise Supports including a Rescue and Restructuring Scheme is available through Enterprise Ireland for vulnerable but viable firms that need to restructure or transform their business. 

Under the Credit Guarantee Scheme, unsecured funding of up to €1m is available for terms of up to seven years. Loans under the scheme are available from AIB, Bank of Ireland and Ulster Bank. Businesses can apply through the SBCI website at sbci.gov.ie.

Your business may be eligible for funding through Microfinance Ireland, which offers loans to micro-enterprises (sole traders and firms with up to 9 employees). In response to the current outbreak, funding available through Microfinance Ireland will be increased from €25,000 to €50,000, as an immediate measure to specifically deal with the exceptional circumstances micro-enterprises are facing. Loans are available at an interest rate of between 6.8% and 7.8%. Businesses can apply through their Local Enterprise Office or directly at microfinanceireland.ie.

For firms experiencing trading difficulties and short-term shocks the following supports are now in place:

The Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection (DEASP) and DBEI will provide a joint First Responder support service through the Intreo Offices and development agencies, Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland in each region to provide tailored supports for impacted firms, with the objective of avoiding mass lay-offs and buying time for firms to work through the short-term disruptions.

The full range of Enterprise Ireland,  IDA Ireland, Local Enterprise Office and Údarás na Gaeltachta grant supports will be available to firms to help with strategies to innovate, diversify markets and supply chains and to improve competitiveness. 

Other supports include:

A Finance in Focus grant of €7,200 will be available to Enterprise Ireland and Údarás na Gaeltachta clients that want to access consultancy support to undertake immediate finance reviews.

In addition to their current range of business supports to microenterprises, LEOs can also provide business continuity vouchers from €2,500 to assist in preparing any business continuity issues that arise in the current challenging environment. 

Enterprise Ireland will provide an online portal of advice and business continuity tools and webinars for business.

Enterprise Ireland with the LEOs will activate advisory clinics and mentoring support for impacted firms.

The Department has updated its checklist on Business Continuity Planning which provides a checklist of preparatory actions for businesses in responding to COVID-19. That and other relevant information and links can be found on the DBEI Website.

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