A SUPPORT fund for small businesses during the coronavirus crisis could be extended to some engineering and manufacturing firms, the economy minister has suggested.
Diane Dodds said they could fall under a "second tier of the hardship fund that we could bring forward relatively easily" if funding became available.
The minister was speaking at a Stormont committee following questions from Sinn Féin Mid Ulster MLA Linda Dillon.
A £10,000 grant is available to businesses eligible for the Small Business Rate Relief Scheme, as well as businesses with a total net annual value of £15,000 and below who benefit from industrial derating.
Ms Dillon asked the minister to consider extending the grant scheme to smaller engineering and manufacturing firms which currently do not qualify due to their higher net annual value.
In response, Ms Dodds told MLAs that such businesses would "probably fall between the 15 and 51 category".
"Yes we have done work to identify those businesses, and potentially if we were to get money to become available, that is a second tier of the hardship fund that we could bring forward relatively easily," she said.
Ms Dillon yesterday welcomed the minister's response during Thursday's committee meeting.
"Mid Ulster sustained itself through many difficult days even in the absence of the infrastructure which was required, and now with the new growth deals and the long-awaited investment into west of the Bann, we must ensure that our businesses survive to avail of that investment," she said.
