Tánaiste Welcomes Credit Union Participation in COVID-19 Credit Guarantee Scheme
The Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Leo Varadkar T.D. today (Thursday, 14th of January) announced the participation of Metamo Credit Unions and three non-bank lenders: Linked Finance, CapitalFlow and Finance Ireland, in the Government’s €2 billion COVID-19 Credit Guarantee Scheme.
The Credit Guarantee Scheme is the biggest ever state-backed loan guarantee in Ireland. The Scheme offers an 80% Government guarantee to participating lenders to provide Irish businesses, including those in the farming and fishing sectors, with access to low interest loans as they respond to the impacts of COVID-19.
Land purchase activity remained strong during COVID-19, driven nearly exclusively by the dairy sector, Ulster Bank has said.
The bank reports that dairy farmers were the key drivers of customer activity in 2020, with increased demand for finance also coming from the poultry sector.
This trend has been projected to continue into the new year, with the bank receiving a number of applications from farmers looking to convert to dairy farming or expand their dairy farm operations.
Beef support
Head of agriculture with Ulster Bank Ailish Byrne said: “2020 has been a challenging year for the economy and the country, but agri food businesses have shown real resilience.