Léim ar aghaidh chuig an bpríomhábhar
Gnáthamharc

Brexit Supports

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 21 February 2018

Wednesday, 21 February 2018

Ceisteanna (121)

Fiona O'Loughlin

Ceist:

121. Deputy Fiona O'Loughlin asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the number of businesses that have taken up Brexit business supports, such as the be prepared grants and Brexit readiness vouchers provided by Enterprise Ireland and InterTradeIreland. [8895/18]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

The long-term response to Brexit is for companies to become more competitive, more innovative and to diversify their export footprint into more markets. I am confident that the agencies under my Department have the supports to enable companies to consolidate market share within the UK and also to become more resilient by broadening their sales to other international markets. Enterprise Ireland (EI) and the LEOs are actively supporting their clients to achieve this. My Department provided for additional monies in 2017 to enable EI and the LEOs to ramp up its supports in light of Brexit to drive improvements in:

- productivity,

- innovation,

- management capability and     

- leadership skills,

and really driving the ambition of managers to look to other markets around the world.

Enterprise Ireland’s Be Prepared Grant offers SMEs a grant of up to €5,000 to assist them in preparing an action plan for economic shocks, such as Brexit. The grant can be used to help cover consultancy, travel and travel expenses associated with researching the direction of their action plan. Enterprise Ireland is committed to processing all applications for the grant within eighteen days. As of February 15th 2018, 84 have been approved, with 8 more in progress. Enterprise Ireland is actively promoting its supports, and is launching a series of Brexit Advisory Clinics this week. These clinics are designed to help companies plan and take immediate action to effectively mitigate the risks and avail of the opportunities that Brexit poses.

A key part of InterTrade Ireland’s Brexit strategy is the provision for a Brexit ‘Start to Plan’ readiness voucher scheme of €2,000, which enables SMEs to purchase specialist advice in areas such as customs, tax, tariff and non-tariff barriers, legal and labour mobility issues.  As of February 16th, a total of 43 such vouchers have been approved, with a further 11 pending.

Barr
Roinn