Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 9 February 2017
1. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the contingencies and supports in place to safeguard Irish jobs and exports for a hard Brexit scenario following the UK referendum decision to leave the EU; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6507/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraWill the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation outline the contingencies and support she is putting in place to safeguard Irish jobs and exports in view of the hard Brexit scenario the country faces in the aftermath of the decision in the recent UK referendum to exit the EU?
The question tabled by the Deputy was slightly different so I will answer that one.
Brexit will impact on all policy fields of the Department and agencies and I have tasked my Department officials with making Brexit their number one priority.
I am satisfied that all efforts are being made to understand and respond to the challenges and opportunities.
This is reflected in the recently launched Action Plan for Jobs 2017, which contains a special chapter on Brexit and several detailed actions.
I have secured significant additional capital and current funding for my Department in 2017 – a 10% increase on 2016 to support the enterprise agencies of the Department.
Enterprise Ireland, EI, the local enterprise offices, InterTradeIreland, and Industrial Development Agency, IDA, Ireland, are engaging on a one-to-one basis with all client companies to help them assess, plan and act.
We will work to preserve Ireland's fullest market access to the UK in the framework of any future deal between the EU and the UK. This includes a particular focus on the trade implications for the Border region. We will do our utmost to promote the interests of those companies and businesses that engage in cross-Border trade.
InterTradeIreland has a programme of initiatives to deal with the practical consequences of Brexit for cross-Border trade.
I have put in place a structured dialogue with companies of different sizes, across different sectors and regions with the support of various representative bodies, to identify the real needs of firms and develop potential responses. This will give me a clear evidence base for what the various sectors need and want. We are also enhancing our trade and investment missions and events.
We are all very concerned as are business people at Theresa May's confirmation that the UK intends to leave the Single Market and that we are facing a hard Brexit. The Minister is aware that the Department of Finance in the scenario which it produced recently predicted a fall in our economic output of 3.5% that would effectively reduce our exports to the UK by almost one third.
In a reply to a recent parliamentary question, the Minister informed me that, as of 19 January last, only half the Cabinet had engaged in bilateral meetings with their counterparts. That is seven out of 15 Ministers, which is poor. Those figures may have improved since. We have been advocating an enterprise stabilisation fund. The Minister outlined how she has resourced IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland but we need a stabilisation fund that business and small and medium enterprises, SMEs can tap into, a fund that they can apply to with a set of criteria. Does the Minister have any plan to introduce such a measure at Cabinet and if not, why?
Senior officials in the Department have explored the stabilisation fund and have discussed it in Brussels with the Commission. That will be difficult. We are conducting a targeted survey and we and EI are finding there are different requests from companies. Some are looking for more credit, some for cheaper loans, some want lean programmes to be initiated, some want to make sure there is more competitiveness. We need these responses and hard information before saying what we need.
The Minister has said that an enterprise stabilisation fund is difficult. She has not expanded on what the difficulties are and whether they can be surmounted. Everything is surmountable if we try to address it. We have to consider our competitiveness. We have a huge deficit in terms of competitiveness in respect of the UK. We have highlighted for example the capital gains rate of tax for entrepreneurial start-ups. Have the Minister or her Cabinet colleagues discussed with their counterparts engagements on a change in the state aid rules? They should be having more of these engagements. The limit is €200,000 but previously it was €500,000. If we work hard and focus on trying to change our state aid rules by way of collaboration and engagement with our EU colleagues we would greatly help our SME sector and could then roll out an enterprise stabilisation fund.
Senior officials in the Department are exploring that. It is quite confidential at the moment. We give grants with EI in accordance with state aid rules. That is not all of what the companies want. We are engaging with them. EI has 1,500 clients on its books and is engaging one-to-one with the companies and the sectors. The answer is not to throw money at them. It is to have a targeted response so that the company and the agencies, EI and InterTradeIreland, will be confident that those companies will be vibrant and successful after Brexit.
