Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 October 2019
85. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the level of Brexit preparedness in the agrifood sector; if the dedicated help line and email address of his Department are receiving many queries weekly; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41377/19]
View answerBrexit, in whatever form it takes, will have a significant impact on Ireland, and requires planning by Government, businesses and citizens, as well as at EU level. My Department and its agencies have been preparing themselves and the wider agri-food sector for the potential implications, and will continue to do so, through extensive contingency planning and stakeholder engagement.
The Department has engaged with stakeholders through extensive outreach activities, including:
- direct meetings with businesses and representative associations,
- attendance at the Ploughing championships and other agricultural shows,
- participation in the Getting Ireland Brexit Ready seminars, and
- through a focused communications campaign utilising its website, social media, and print and broadcast media.
The Department is also encouraging relevant operators to register with Revenue for an EORI number, and with my Department as an importer or exporter, so that they can continue trading with the UK post-Brexit. A ‘Brexit Checklist’ has also been prepared and widely distributed in recent months.
In addition, Revenue trade data with the UK in 2018 has been used to identify nearly 30,000 agri-food importers and exporters, to whom a notice has been issued on my Department's behalf, encouraging them to take the necessary action if they haven’t already done so. My Department has also recently hosted a number of Brexit seminars on “Keeping Agri-food trade moving”, attended by about 600 businesses and representative bodies. These initiatives come on top of the stakeholder consultative meetings, sector-specific focus groups and meetings with representative bodies and individual companies that have been an ongoing component of our Brexit preparations.
My Department established a dedicated Brexit Information line and Brexit Call email address earlier this year to assist anyone looking for information on Brexit, particularly those involved in agri-food trading with the UK. The number of calls and queries has increased to approximately 100 per week as we approach the deadline of 31 October.
I would urge agri-food businesses to avail of all of these services, and in particular to register with Revenue and with my Department as a matter of urgency, if they have not already done so.
