Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 2 April 2019
88. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the amount which has been spent to date on Getting Ireland Brexit Ready; and the amount expected to be spent on making the country Brexit ready for each of the next ten years. [15048/19]
View answerSince my appointment as Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade in June 2017, I have overseen and co-ordinated a sustained intensification of Brexit preparedness. As part of these efforts, the Government has organised “Getting Ireland Brexit Ready” public information events around Ireland to inform and advise about Brexit preparedness and the range of support measures and resources that the Government has put in place.
These events brought together over a dozen Agencies and their parent Departments – the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, and the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport - under one roof to inform and advise both citizens and businesses.
The events also attracted significant domestic and international media coverage which afforded an opportunity to highlight Ireland’s overall approach and specific concerns in relation to Brexit.
The Getting Ireland Brexit Ready events in question took place in Cork on 5 October 2018, Galway on 12 October 2018, Monaghan on 19 October 2018, Dublin on 25 October, Limerick on 23 November 2018 and Letterkenny on 30 November 2018.
The positive impact of the Getting Ireland Brexit Ready events and the Government's ongoing public information activities in relation to Brexit preparedness is reflected in an increase in the uptake of the many Brexit Business supports that are offered by State Agencies. For example, over 4,000 companies have availed of the Enterprise Ireland Brexit Scorecard facility as a first step in developing their Brexit plan. Similarly, over 1,000 SMEs have directly engaged with the InterTradeIreland Brexit Advisory Service so far in 2019; this is in addition to the 4,175 engagements in 2018.
Other Brexit preparedness-related public information activities and events continue to be organised by Government Departments and State Agencies across Ireland. Since September 2018 there have been over 90 such events across 21 counties. Relevant details on these activities and events and on Brexit preparedness more generally can be found via the gov.ie/brexit website.
To coincide with the ‘Getting Ireland Brexit Ready’ events held to date, there was also a sustained public information campaign which ran on radio, in print media, online and via social media channels. This campaign ensured that citizens and businesses were informed of the measures available to them.
In organising each event, every effort was made to ensure that costs were kept to the necessary minimum and that they achieved the best value for money. Costs that have arisen directly in connection with the Getting Ireland Brexit Ready events held so far and costs for the accompanying public information campaign activities for which invoices/confirmed costings have been received are as follows:
|
Item |
Totals |
|
Venue Hire, Catering & Related |
€69,242.84 |
|
Event Staging / Audio-Visual Equipment (OPW) |
€101,595.73 |
|
Event Materials / Signage / Badging |
€22,964.30 |
|
Photography / Video / Podcast |
€17,252.85 |
|
Advertising & Design |
€294,859.18 |
|
Other |
€2,086.47 |
|
Total |
€508,001.37 |
Regarding the second part of the Deputy’s question, I understand that officials in my Department have been in direct contact with the Deputy’s office to clarify the scope of this question, and that the Deputy will submit questions to a number of Departments on the specific information being sought.
