Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 11 October 2017
74. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation if specific measures will be introduced to assist businesses in the Border region which have been impacted adversely by the fall in the value of sterling and sectors that are dependent on Northern Ireland and Britain as export markets; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43143/17]
View answerSince the Brexit vote outcome, my Department has had extensive engagement with businesses to understand what they need to help them adapt to the challenges posed by Brexit, not least of which the pronounced currency fluctuations that have been felt in recent months.
Given that the border counties are particularly exposed to these challenges, InterTrade Ireland, the cross-border body co-funded by the Department, is now offering two vouchers to help businesses seek advice on issues related to currency.
The first is the Trade Accelerator voucher, offering €1,000 towards the cost of practical advice from experts on specific issues, such as currency management. The second is the Brexit Start to Plan Voucher, which offers up to €2,000 towards professional advice in relation to Brexit matters.
In Tuesday's Budget, I announced a new Brexit Loan Scheme which will provide affordable working capital financing to Irish businesses that are either currently impacted by Brexit, or will be in the future. The new Scheme will be delivered by the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI) through commercial lenders to get much needed working capital into Irish businesses.
The new Brexit Loan Scheme aims to make up to €300 million available to businesses of up to 499 employees. The scheme will be open both to development agency clients and those businesses that do not have any relationship with State Agencies.
My Department is also exploring the development of a longer-term Business Development Loan Scheme which would assist firms in long term investing for a post-Brexit environment.
The 2017 Action Plan for Jobs has also identified a range of actions to facilitate the resilience of Irish businesses in anticipation of Brexit. Seventeen actions are aimed at promoting market diversification, improving competitiveness, realising opportunities in foreign markets and attracting research and innovation talent to Ireland. Three actions focus on the specific sectors of agri-food and tourism which is a very important aspect of cross border trade. All twenty actions will be of benefit to the border region with one of them (Action 13) focusing on delivering economic growth and jobs through the North-South Council and outreach activities.
The North East/North West Regional Action Plan for Jobs is a key policy response, in the context of Brexit, for supporting employment growth in the Border region. The Plan aims to deliver 28,000 extra jobs in the counties of Cavan, Monaghan, Sligo, Leitrim, Donegal and Louth by 2020. The Plan is stimulating job creation across the region by facilitating collaborative initiatives between the public and private sector.
Enterprise Ireland also continues to support companies, including their many clients in the border counties, on a one to one basis to enhance their competitiveness and capability and build on their success in existing and new markets. Enterprise Ireland’s ‘Brexit SME Scorecard’, a new interactive online platform which can be used by all Irish companies to self-assess their exposure to Brexit, is available on www.prepareforbrexit.ie. This tool is a starting point for SME management teams looking to develop an action plan to help mitigate risks and leverage opportunities which may arise from Brexit.
My Department’s Local Enterprise Offices the LEOs are hosting information events around the country for core and non-core clients. These sessions enable companies learn about the potential impacts and opportunities of Brexit, and to engage in a process of strategic planning to ensure their companies have a robust strategy in place.
The LEOs are also now offering a Technical Assistance for Micro-exporters (TAME) grant, designed to help LEO clients to find new markets and exports by part-funding expenditure incurred investigating and researching export markets.
The six LEOs in the Border region are also working together with their Northern Ireland counterparts under the EU Co-Innovate Programme. The aim of Co-Innovate is to give SMEs from the manufacturing and tradable services sectors in the regions the tools and tailored support to help them to innovate, differentiate and compete successfully.
Finally, the Lean4Micro programme was designed to encourage clients to adopt Lean business principles in their organisation to increase performance and competitiveness.
