Gaeltacht firms gain access to €5 million COVID fund

FIRMS in the Múscraí Gaeltacht will be among companies who can share a new €5m fund aimed at supporting businesses hit during the COVID-19 period.

Údarás na Gaeltachta’s client companies will be able to access the full range of supports under the Sustaining Enterprise Fund.

This will be a huge relief to enterprises in Múscraí, where a large proportion of the jobs are supported by the Gaeltacht agency.

This week’s €5m announcement comes hot on the heels of the recently announced extra funding of €0.6m secured for Údarás na Gaeltachta to administer the Online Trading Scheme in the Gaeltacht.

It also ensures that Gaeltacht enterprises will have access to the €180 million Sustaining Enterprise Fund, which is administered through the State’s development agencies, including Údarás na Gaeltachta and Enterprise Ireland.

It has been made available to assist client companies trade through the current crisis, following the negotiations by the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation with the European Commission to gain a relaxation on normally strict restrictions on state aid.

This €180m Sustaining Enterprise Fund is specifically aimed at all firms with 10 or more employees impacted by COVID-19, companies that are vulnerable but viable.

The Fund will be available to eligible Údarás na Gaeltachta clients and will be operated by Enterprise Ireland, providing repayable advances and preference shares of up to €800,000, as agreed with the EU under new State Aid rules. This, together with leveraged lending from the financial markets, should see up to €500m of additional investment in vulnerable-but-viable firms.

These grants will only be repayable if and when a business returns to financial good health.

Údarás na Gaeltachta client companies should make contact with the Údarás to begin the process.

Údarás na Gaeltachta’s CEO Mícheál Ó hÉanaigh warmly welcomed the confirmation that Gaeltacht businesses will be able to access €5m of this fund of financial supports to assist them recover from this crisis.

“We will continue to work closely with all our stakeholders during this period to ensure that supports and resources are available to Gaeltacht enterprises during this uncertain time,” Mr Ó hÉanaigh said.