Announcement of Government liquidity supports welcomed by business

Ibec, the group that represents Irish business, today welcomed the announcement by Minister Humphreys of additional liquidity supports of €1 billion to address the credit crisis currently facing Irish business. The additional measures will provide particular support to the SME sector and the enhancements to the working capital, credit guarantee and future growth support products will provide important assistance to businesses at this challenging time. 

Ibec Director of Policy and Public Affairs Fergal O’Brien said: “The credit crisis facing Irish business is now very acute and provides a significant risk to economic recovery once the Covid containment measures are lifted.  

“The new measures announced by Government today are very welcome and will provide an important confidence boost for firms currently concerned about their cash flow situations. It is also very positive to hear that Government plans to deliver further liquidity supports for business and to continue to enhance the suite of measures available. In particular, it will be important that measures of scale are rolled out for mid-sized firms as liquidity challenges are currently impacting on businesses of all sizes.  

“The current flexibility in EU State Aid rules means that Government can do much more than in normal times to get exceptionally low-cost credit directly to businesses and we look forward to seeing further measures in this regard. Today’s announcement is an important step in addressing the credit crisis and Ibec will continue to work with Government on additional solutions.”