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Brexit Issues

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 20 March 2018

Tuesday, 20 March 2018

Ceisteanna (393, 394, 395)

Niall Collins

Ceist:

393. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the detail of each specific EU Competitiveness Council ministers' meeting in which she or her predecessors made the case for the need of a revision of state aid rules to protect Irish enterprises and related jobs during the UK’s two year exit phase from the EU and subsequent transition phase; the date of each meeting in which this was raised in tabular form; the progress made at EU level to increase state aid thresholds to support Irish enterprises in a hard Brexit; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12295/18]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Niall Collins

Ceist:

394. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation if she instructed her officials to submit proposals for changing the current state aid thresholds at EU level ahead of the next state aid modernisation working group meeting which takes place here on 27 April 2018; and her plans on same in advance order to protect Irish enterprises, exporting companies and related jobs from a hard Brexit World Trade Organization, WTO, scenario and other negative trading scenarios as outlined in the recent Copenhagen economics report. [12296/18]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Niall Collins

Ceist:

395. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation if she will request at European level changes to state aid thresholds at EU level in order to protect Irish enterprises, exporting companies and related jobs from a hard Brexit World Trade Organization, WTO, scenario following the EU Council's draft guidelines published on 7 March 2018 in which it confirmed that due to the UK’s position of refusing customs union and Single Market solutions the UK is hurtling towards third country status. [12297/18]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

I propose to take Questions Nos. 393 to 395, inclusive, together.

Since the Brexit Referendum, my predecessor, Mary Mitchell O’Connor, attended meetings of the Competitiveness Council on 29th September 2016, 28th November 2016 and 20th February 2017. My colleague, Minister Breen, attended the most recent meetings of the Council on 30th November 2017 and 12th March 2018. State Aid rules did not feature on the agenda of these meetings. The Competitiveness Council is a consultative committee and is not a forum for direct representations from Member States. Nor does the Committee propose changes to State Aid rules.

Brexit was a central part of the discussions at meetings my predecessor, the then Tánaiste Frances Fitzgerald, had with both EU Commissioners and Ministers from other Member States. This included a meeting with the EU’s Chief Brexit Negotiator, Michel Barnier, in July 2017, where the difficulties Ireland was facing as a result of Brexit were discussed.

In November 2017, the then Tánaiste met with Commissioner Vestager, the European Commissioner for Competition who has responsibility for EU State aid policy to discuss, amongst other things, the impact of Brexit on Irish businesses. An outcome from this meeting was the establishment of a Working Group comprising representatives from DG Competition, the Department of Business, Enterprise& Innovation, Enterprise Ireland and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. The objective of the Group is to scope and design schemes to support enterprises impacted by Brexit in line with State Aid rules. The Working Group has met three times and in between these meetings, there has been engagement on specific issues in order to continue to progress matters. The next meeting of the Group is due to take place within the next month. Should issues arise that require an approach that does not fit within the existing State Aid rules, this will be raised as part of the Working Group discussions. It will not, however, be an item for discussion at the State Aid Working Group meeting on 27th April 2018 as the mandate of the Group is to discuss best practice, share information and knowledge etc. It is not a policy forum.

My Department is carrying out extensive work to prepare for all Brexit eventualities. Informed by detailed research, my Department is putting in place a package of measures that will allow us to respond to the needs of businesses including the Brexit Loan Scheme which was announced in Budget 2018 which will provide affordable working capital financing to eligible businesses that are either currently impacted by Brexit or will be in the future.

The recent signing of the counter guarantee from the EIB group (through its InnovFin Guarantee) means that the €24 million exchequer funding announced in the 2018 Budget (€14 million from my Department and €9 million from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine) can be leveraged to provide a fund of €300 million. The Brexit Loan Scheme, which will be launched in the 28th of March, will be open to businesses of fewer than 500 employees which can demonstrate that they are significantly exposed to the impact (or potential impact) of Brexit. They must be a viable business, doing business in Ireland, and they must have a business development strategy demonstrating that they plan to innovate or adapt in response to Brexit. This scheme will be operated within De Minimis State Aid Regulation.

My officials are also examining policy proposals for a new longer-term Business Investment Loan Scheme to support businesses to invest strategically for a post-Brexit environment and a new Business Finance Advisory Hub service which would focus on business development.

The Agencies of my Department are at the forefront in working with firms to ensure they are equipped to deal with Brexit and to enhance their performances in an increasingly competitive global trading environment through lean programmes, skills development and reducing business costs.

Enterprise Ireland (EI) has launched the 'Brexit SME Scorecard', an interactive online tool which can be used by all Irish companies to self-assess their exposure to Brexit. EI is also offering a 'Be Prepared Grant' of up to €5,000 to support clients to develop a Brexit Action Plan and it continues to support clients to improve their competitiveness, acquire new markets and enhance management skills.

The Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) are organising workshops, seminars and training to assist companies to better understand the challenges of Brexit and have a range of supports to help clients to respond to those challenges, to become more competitive and to source new markets.

InterTrade Ireland is also working to minimise the impact of Brexit on north-south trade.

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