Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 7 March 2019
28. Deputy Aindrias Moynihan asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation her plans to hold more Brexit advisory clinics; her further plans to expand awareness of the clinics, particularly in County Cork; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11267/19]
View answerBeing prepared for Brexit is critical for companies, therefore to support companies navigate potential emerging challenges, my Department and its agencies has engaged in a programme of:
- Building resilience in Irish exporting companies focused on innovation, market diversification and competitiveness; and
- Addressing the awareness and preparedness of companies to Brexit.
As part of this, Enterprise Ireland is running Brexit Advisory Clinics to support companies to take immediate action to address their potential exposure. These clinics aim to strengthen their capabilities in the business areas of financial and currency management, strategic sourcing, and customs, transport and logistics. These clinics are open to non EI clients. Since January 2018, over 1,200 companies have attended the clinics throughout the country. The most recent clinics held in 2019 were; in Galway (14th February), Cork (27th February), Letterkenny (5th March). The next clinics are planned for Dublin (14th March), and Portlaoise (20th March).
At the Cork clinic, Enterprise Ireland had 7 expert desks around the areas of Strategic Sourcing, Currency and Financial Management and Customs & Logistics. These meetings generated 54 one to one meetings between clients and the EI panel of experts across the day.
Allied to that, the Local Enterprise Offices have also commenced the national roll-out of customs training workshops. This series of Prepare Your Business for Customs one day interactive workshops will begin on the 8th March in Cork, followed by workshops in Dublin on the 13th March and Portlaoise on the 21st March.
In addition to the regional events, Enterprise Ireland will be running a Brexit Advisory Webinar Series to share with companies the main business insights, tips and tactics from the Advisory Clinics. These webinars are scheduled for the 6th, 13th and 27th of March and are open to all companies.
