Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed, has said that the legislation required to implement the Future Growth Loan Scheme is not expected to cause additional delays, according to Agriland.
The news publication reported on the Minister speaking at a press breeding in Dublin yesterday in response to Tuesday’s Budget.
The Minister confirmed that €25 million was secured for his Department in Budget 2019, which will be used for the low-cost loan scheme for farmers teased earlier in the year.
He said that the legislation for the scheme is required due to the presence of the European Investment Fund (EIF). He could not clarify if the legislation will be under the Finance Bill or act as a standalone piece of legislation.
'A Lot Of Moving Parts'
“This time last year, we stood here in the context of the €25 million that the department was putting into a loan scheme for capital investment,” the Minister said, speaking at yesterday’s press event.
“At that stage, I did say that it was our ambition that that product would happen in the second half of 2018.
“I do confess that it has been a more difficult journey that we envisaged - there are a lot of moving parts to it.”
The new scheme will fill “a gap in the market”, according to the Minister. It will require a minimum borrowing of €50,000, with loans set to be available over eight to ten year periods, at interest rates of around 5%.
“It will address what we believe is a deficit in the market already, in so far as it will be longer-term money than what’s generally available,” Creed concluded.
© 2018 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Aidan O’Sullivan. Click subscribe to sign up for the Checkout print edition.
