Banks assure Coveney of willingness to lend to farmers
Mr Coveney told Sinn Féin TD Pearse Doherty in a written reply to a Dáil question that he had met with the chiefs executive of the banks regarding credit availability to farmers.
He also said if a farmer has had an application for credit refused or reduced and feels the decision is unjustified, they can seek to have the issue reviewed by the Credit Review Office.
Depending on the type of activity proposed, Mr Coveney said the enterprise may be eligible to access credit through Microfinance Ireland or the SME Credit Guarantee Scheme.
The assistance provided through these initiatives, like many Government-backed business support activities, is regarded as state aid and is governed according to the European Commission’s De Minimis state aid rules.
Therefore, primary agricultural production such as farming is not included in these schemes. However, investment for the purpose of value-adding downstream processing and marketing activities is regarded as being “industrial” and so may be eligible.
A consultation paper in relation to the 2014 to 2020 Rural Development Programme has been prepared and sets out a number of priorities in the case of on-farm investment schemes.
These include further support to encourage investment in the dairy sector and an enhanced scheme of grant-aid for young farmers with a grant-rate of 60%.
