Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 18 October 2018
180. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the specific supports available to support small and medium enterprises that face particular difficulties due to Brexit; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42984/18]
View answerMy Department and its agencies are central to the Government effort to prepare Irish SMEs and our wider business ecosystem for Brexit. The agencies under my remit have an extensive range of supports available to enable companies to both consolidate market share and continue to pursue new opportunities and to grow their market presence. In Budget 2019 an extra €8 million has been allocated to the enterprise agencies and regulatory bodies under my Department who work with SMEs at the coalface to develop their supports and plans for business.
For instance, the ‘Brexit SME Scorecard’ is a new interactive online platform launched by Enterprise Ireland (EI) which can be used by all Irish companies to self-assess their exposure to Brexit. To date, 2,962 Brexit Scorecards have been completed. The Be Prepared grant, also available through EI, offers SME clients a grant of up to €5,000 to assist them in preparing an action plan for economic shocks such as Brexit. The grant can be used to help cover consultancy, travel and travel expenses associated with researching the direction of their action plan. 137 Be Prepared Grants have so far been approved.
Enterprise Ireland has run eight Brexit advisory clinics throughout the country to date. Approximately 590 people have attended these events and three more clinics are due to take place before the end of the year in Dundalk, Waterford and Limerick.
The Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) have organised various events to enable companies to learn about the potential impacts, opportunities of Brexit. 3,925 participants have taken part in these events. In addition, 263 LEO clients have received one-to-one mentoring solely focused on Brexit. The LEOs also engage in a number of other schemes to help companies prepare for Brexit. Technical Assistance Grants for Micro Export are offered as an incentive for LEO clients to explore and develop new market opportunities. 293 clients have been approved so far for this scheme.
The Brexit Loan Scheme, launched in March this year, makes a fund of up to €300 million available to eligible businesses to help them innovate, change or adapt to mitigate their Brexit challenge. So far, there have been 262 applications to the Scheme, with 224 approved by the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland.
InterTradeIreland’s Brexit Advisory Service was established in May 2017 to provide a focal point for SMEs, working to navigate the changes in cross-border trading relationships brought about by Brexit negotiations. To date the Brexit Advisory Service has engaged directly with over 2,350 SMEs in Ireland through the various elements of its Brexit Advisory Service.
I am encouraged by the fact that businesses are engaging in high numbers with these supports. It shows that many businesses are taking the first important steps of gathering information and preparing Brexit contingency plans.
