Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 2 November 2016
469. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if she has created a special unit in IDA Ireland to specifically deal with Brexit; if so, the number of staff that are full time tasked with the objective; the annual budget; and the specific responsibility of each person. [32848/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraPreparing for the possibility of Brexit has long been a priority for IDA Ireland. Before the referendum the Agency established a team of senior managers to examine the potential impact of a UK withdrawal from the EU on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into Ireland. This work intensified following the result of the referendum in June and the IDA continues to engage with existing and prospective clients to ensure that its strategy remains fit for purpose in light of the various challenges that Brexit may present for Ireland.
It is important to realise that Brexit is likely to impact all of IDA Ireland’s operational divisions. Responsibility for managing Brexit as a whole cannot therefore be assigned entirely to a single discrete business unit within the Agency. Instead, all of the IDA’s main teams will be responsible for helping to address Brexit and its impacts on FDI into Ireland.
The full extent for Ireland of the impact of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU will, of course, remain unclear until we know the outcome of the negotiations concerning the new arrangements that will govern the EU’s relationship with the UK. However, the Government is working hard in the meantime to ensure that Ireland is prepared to meet challenges associated with Brexit. In this context, an additional €500,000 was provided in support of the IDA’s global communications activities to allow the Agency to highlight Ireland’s attributes as a key European FDI location post-Brexit. Additional funding was also secured in Budget 2017 to allow for more than 50 new posts for the Department and its agencies to support our response to Brexit.
