Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 November 2016
697. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if an assessment has been carried out into the future competitiveness of the SME retail sector post-Brexit, particularly the implications for imports and exports to and from Britain and Northern Ireland. [34606/16]
View answerIn terms of assessing the impacts of Brexit on businesses, I have tasked my Department officials with making Brexit their number one priority. I am establishing a new focused Brexit Unit within the Department, and a Brexit Senior Officials Group to monitor developments across the Department on a regular basis at official level.
As chair of the Retail Consultation Forum, I am also very aware of the specific issues faced by the retail sector. The Forum provides a platform for my Department to engage directly with the concerns of retailers, and its work programme is focused on identifying opportunities and responses to challenges in a collaborative manner to maintain the competitiveness of the sector and support sustainable jobs growth in the retail sector across all regions.
Currently, the Forum’s work programme has four key areas of focus: reducing energy costs, maximising opportunities in the digital economy, identifying skills needs for the sector, and the revitalisation of town centres. These working groups are focused on maximising the benefit of concrete initiatives and funding streams, such as the fund of €10 million made available by the Government this year for the Town and Village Renewal Scheme, and further funding of €12 million in 2017. Effective use of funds such as this will be of particular support to small and medium retailers. Progressing the work areas of the Forum will provide support to the retail sector in facing Brexit-related challenges.
I will be chairing the next meeting of the Retail Consultation Forum on 21st November. Brexit is now a standing item on the agenda and members of the Forum will be briefed at this meeting by senior officials from the Department of the Taoiseach on the whole of Government response to the Brexit-related challenges. This will also provide retail members of the Forum with an opportunity to outline their concerns regarding the impact of Brexit on the sector.
At this stage, it is difficult to predict what the precise impact of Brexit will be on specific business sectors, and much will depend on the nature of the deal negotiated between the UK and the EU. This Government will ensure, during that process, to highlight our unique economic ties with both Britain and Northern Ireland.
As Minister, I have responsibility for supporting SMEs across the whole of the economy. I am making sure that I am armed with the detail of how Brexit impacts on each sector and each company type – be they SMEs, micro enterprises, or larger companies, before I finalise any proposals about specific measures. My Department is scoping out possible responses to the short term currency challenge and I expect to be in a position to announce more detail, based on actual company needs shortly.
