I propose to take Questions Nos. 709 and 710 together.
Brexit poses enormous challenges for the agri-food and fisheries sectors by virtue of their exposure to the UK market, as confirmed by numerous studies, including by the ESRI, Department of Finance and, most recently, by Copenhagen Economics.
I and my Department have been engaging extensively with these sectors since the UK Referendum vote through my Department’s Stakeholder Consultative Committee, the All-Island Civic Dialogue process and ongoing bilateral contacts. Among the many issues that have been raised is the question of how to facilitate potential measures that would, for example, support market and product diversification by companies, given the restrictions imposed by EU State Aid rules.
Following a meeting last November between the then Tánaiste and Commissioner Vestager (who has responsibility for EU State Aid policy) a Working Group was established to examine this area. This Working Group comprises representatives from DG Competition, the Department of Business, Enterprise & Innovation, Enterprise Ireland and my Department. The objective of the Group is to scope and design schemes to support enterprises impacted by Brexit in line with State Aid rules. The Working Group has met three times and in between these meetings, there has been engagement on specific issues in order to continue to progress matters. Should issues arise that require an approach that does not fit within the existing State Aid rules, this will be raised as part of the Working Group discussions.
