Micheál Martin
Question:155. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the contingency plans for companies if sterling falls by 3% or more. [52123/18]
View answerWednesday, 12 December 2018
Questions (155)
Written answers
My Department is carrying out extensive work to prepare for all Brexit eventualities. Informed by detailed research, my Department has been putting in place a package of measures that will allow us to respond to the needs of businesses affected by Brexit.
A notified Rescue and Restructuring (R&R) scheme was approved by the Commission in late November 2017. Under the 10 million euro scheme, which will run until 2020, Enterprise Ireland can provide restructuring support to SMEs in severe financial difficulties.
The R&R scheme was extended in May 2018 to include temporary restructuring aid for enterprises facing acute liquidity needs. This provides a further 10 million euro of State support and is in addition to the original 10 million euro under the R&R scheme. Restructuring aid under this scheme is in the form of direct grants or equity support. It is important to have stabilisation measures such as these schemes in place in the event that they become needed. However, there is whole suite of supports in place that enterprises can avail of to mitigate the impact of Brexit uncertainty.
The Brexit Loan Scheme, launched in March of this year and operated by the SBCI, offers affordable working capital to eligible SMEs that are either currently impacted by Brexit or which will be in the future. Funding granted under the scheme must be used to innovate, change or adapt to meet the challenges posed by Brexit. The Future Growth Loan Scheme announced in Budget 2019, will provide loans for terms of up to 10 years for eligible businesses to invest in a post-Brexit environment.
To assist businesses in responding to Brexit, Enterprise Ireland has established a Prepare for Brexit online portal and communications campaign, as well as an online “Brexit SME Scorecard” to help Irish businesses self-assess their exposure to Brexit and a “Be Prepared Grant” to support SME clients in planning to mitigate risks arising from Brexit. It has also launched a new Eurozone Strategy to help SMEs broaden their export footprint beyond the UK.
Local Enterprise Office funding has been increased by 22%, and this increase is being used to assist micro-enterprises in becoming more competitive and better able to cope with the changing environment in which they are operating. The suite of LEO Brexit supports includes tailored mentoring to address Brexit-related business challenges and targeted training on specific Brexit issues.
Advisory supports in relation to business planning, such as those provided by the Local Enterprise Offices and Enterprise Ireland, will be particularly important in assisting viable-but-vulnerable SMEs that may be adversely affected due to Brexit. These supports will help raise awareness of both private market financial supports and existing State supports.
As part of awareness-raising activities, EI has been rolling out regional Brexit Advisory clinics throughout the year. To date, clinics have been held in Letterkenny, Tralee, Portlaoise, Claremorris, Cootehill, Charleville, Dublin, Galway, Dundalk, Waterford and most recently Limerick. A Brexit two-day external consultancy support is also being rolled out to individual clients to help them develop a detailed sustainable growth plan. DBEI and its agencies have also participated in the Government’s “Getting Ireland Brexit Ready” events. These events have so far taken place in Cork, Galway, Monaghan, Dublin, Limerick and Donegal.
With regard to currency management specifically, my Department has published a guide for SMEs on currency risk management, which has been developed in collaboration with Pricewaterhouse Coopers and is available on my Department's website.