Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 18 October 2018
21. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the steps her Department is taking to assist companies in the Border counties to be prepared for Brexit; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42552/18]
View answerI am very conscious of the potential exposure of the Border counties to Brexit and the deep links with local economies on both sides of the Border.
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 to grow their market presence within the UK. In Budget 2019, I am allocating an extra €8m to the enterprise agencies and regulatory bodies under my Department to develop their supports for business. I also announced a longer-term loan facility of up to €300m to support capital investment by business.
New supports to be rolled out in the coming months include an Online Customs Training Programme to be launched shortly by Enterprise Ireland (EI) to demystify customs procedures. This will be available to all exporters and importers, and will be complemented by a LEOs customs training initiative. An EI Brexit Advisory Clinic will be held in Dundalk on 22 October and all companies are welcome.
I have allocated €5m to the Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) to enhance their programme of supports in 2019, up 22% on 2018. The six LEOs in the Border region provide additional Brexit supports which are focused on capability building, market diversification, driving increased competitiveness and promoting innovation.
I have also allocated an additional €1m in capital funding to InterTrade Ireland, an increase of 17.5%. This will allow them to step up their support for companies in the border region, North and South, who are particularly exposed to Brexit. To date, ITI has received 619 applications for its €2,250 ‘Start to Plan’ vouchers and 514 have been approved. Overall, some 2,350 businesses have availed of elements of ITI’s various Brexit advisory services.
Clearly enterprises in the Border counties are more likely to be impacted by Brexit and should seek to avail of the funding and supports available from my Department’s agencies.
The Government’s commitment to preparing the business community for Brexit can also be seen in the series of four “Getting Ireland Brexit Ready” seminars, one of which will be held in Monaghan this Friday 19 October.
