Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 January 2019
513. Deputy Maurice Quinlivan asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the number of businesses that have availed of the be prepared grant to date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1209/19]
View answerBrexit presents the most significant economic challenge of the past 50 years, and it is important that we prepare for any long-term structural and disruptive change that may emerge. Being prepared is crucial to ensure resilience to emerging challenges. In 2018, EI approved funding of €74m for 535 of its most Brexit-exposed clients with exports to the UK of greater than 20%, or an average of €140,000 per company to support their business growth in the context of Brexit.
To promote awareness, and supported by a national Prepare For Brexit campaign, Enterprise Ireland (EI) launched a €5k Be Prepared Grant that supports the costs of SME clients in preparing a plan to mitigate risks and optimise opportunities arising from Brexit. To date, 151 Be Prepared Grants have been approved to client companies.
Enterprise Ireland provides a range of other financial and non-financial supports to companies to prepare for Brexit. These include:
- The Brexit SME Scorecard, an interactive online platform which can be used by all Irish companies to self-assess their exposure to Brexit under six business pillars.
- The Act On Programme which provides an independent consultant to companies for a course of two half day to assist them decide on specific actions to address some of the risks and opportunities from Brexit.
- The Strategic Consultancy Grant supports the hiring of a strategic consultant typically to assist the company in the development and/or the implementation of strategic initiatives. It is designed to facilitate business growth as the consultants can act as coach, mentor, facilitator, analyst for the company.
- The Market Discovery Fund specifically supports companies in their market diversification plans. The grant aims to incentivise companies to research viable and sustainable market entry strategies.
- The Agile Innovation Fund has been developed to support product, service and process innovation to build competitive advantage.
- Brexit Advisory Clinics to increase the awareness of Brexit amongst companies. Last year Enterprise Ireland ran 11 Brexit advisory clinics throughout the country. Approximately 915 people attended these events.
- A new Customs Insights Online course at the end of 2018 to demystify customs procedures. This is available for any company to use, importers or exporters and whether they are agency clients or not . The course will highlight the responsibilities of companies and will explain some of the main customs procedures and documentation involved.
A major initiative which my Department introduced last year for all Brexit impacted firms was the €300 million Brexit Working Capital Loan Scheme, under which accessible finance is made available to businesses at favourable terms. So far, 332 companies have been approved for eligibility under this scheme. 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 31 Local Enterprise Offices nationwide have organised a range of events and initiatives to assist their client companies prepare for Brexit. These include technical assistance, a lean for micro initiative, mentoring and training, seminars and workshops.
Finally, InterTrade Ireland are rolling out a €2,000 Brexit ‘Start to Plan’ readiness voucher scheme, which enables companies to purchase specialist advice in areas such as customs, tax, tariff and non-tariff barriers, legal and labour mobility issues.
