Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 24 May 2018
113. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the extent to which she remains satisfied with the availability of grant aid or other supports to assist business and enterprise here facing the threat arising from Brexit; if further innovation is needed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23078/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department is carrying out extensive work to prepare for all Brexit eventualities. Informed by detailed research, my Department has been 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 launched in April 2018 and which will provide affordable working capital financing to eligible businesses that are either currently impacted by Brexit or will be in the future.
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.
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 Technical Working Group comprising representatives from DG Competition, the Department of Business, Enterprise and 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. An outcome of the Technical Working Group discussions has been the extension of the Irish Rescue and Restructuring (R and R) scheme to include temporary restructuring aid for enterprises facing acute liquid needs. This provides a further 10 million euro of State support to those companies experiencing acute liquidity needs and is in addition to the original 10m euro announced in November 2017 under the R and R scheme. Under R and R guidelines, the temporary restructuring element is in the form of loans repayable over a maximum period of 18 month. However, restructuring aid under this scheme is in the form of direct grants or equity support.
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.
In addition, EI has a number of other grants in place to support business. The Strategic Consultancy Grant supports the hiring of an outside consultant to assist the company in devising and/or implementing strategic initiatives aimed at improving business function and resilience. It is designed to facilitate business growth as the consultants can act as coach, mentor, facilitator, analyst, negotiator and/or operator for the company. Up to 50% of the costs incurred in hiring a consultant are available up to a maximum grant amount of €35,000.
The Market Discovery Fund provides support to companies to assist them in researching the viability of exporting an existing product/service into a new geographic market, or introducing a new product/service into an existing market. The maximum funding is 50% of eligible expenditure up to a maximum grant of €150,000.
The Agile Innovation Fund is an RD and I grant aimed at clients in sectors with rapid design cycles. It has been developed to support product, service and process innovation to enhance the competitive advantage of Irish companies. The application process is simple and quick, with a short timeframe between application and approval.
Enterprise Ireland is continuing to work with companies to help them to become more innovative. It has rolled out a number of Brexit Advisory Clinics across the country which helps companies to examine their exposure to Brexit and develop effective strategies to mitigate against that exposure. These Clinics are open to both EI clients and non-clients and are delivered free of charge. The next Clinic will take place in Dublin on June 21st at the Aviva Stadium. Topics to be covered include Financial and Currency Management, Strategic Sourcing and Customs, Transport and Logistics, Intellectual Property, Movement of People and Markets.
Enterprise Ireland has also introduced the Brexit: Act On initiative. Under the initiative an independent consultant will come to a company for two half day sessions. The consultant helps companies to decide on specific actions that they can implement over a short period to enable them to address the risks and avail of the opportunities caused by Brexit.
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.
Given its experience in promoting and strengthening North-South trade, InterTrade Ireland (ITI), is especially well-positioned to assist businesses in Ireland address the particular commercial challenges that Brexit may present for future cross-border commerce. That is why my Department has provided additional funding to ITI both last year and also this year, to allow it to undertake a range of initiatives aimed at better preparing Irish SMEs for the UK's withdrawal from the European Union. This work includes the provision of factual advice, information materials and supports for capability building and the provision of other specialist expertise for companies. Major flagship awareness events were held last year in both Belfast and Dublin, attracting several hundred companies each. In addition, an extensive series of information events have been held in smaller centres on both sides of the border. Such events have been organised by ITI in Lisburn. Mullingar, Duleek and Cootehill, and this month alone there have been events in Cork and Sligo.
A key part of InterTrade Ireland’s Brexit work is the provision for SMEs of a Brexit ‘Start to Plan’ readiness voucher scheme, which enables companies to purchase specialist advice in areas such as customs, tax, tariff and non-tariff barriers, legal and labour mobility issues. These are worth €2,000 to each to the companies.
In addition, my Department is funding a research project being undertaken for InterTrade Ireland by the ESRI. The first phase of this research was aimed at improving our understanding of the impact of different trade and tariff regimes which might be imposed following Brexit. The second phase focused on the patterns of cross-border trade on the island of Ireland, and on the role of supply chain links. The next phase of ITI’s research will consist of two further topics being worked on simultaneously: Cross-border trade in service and the capacity of businesses to absorb the costs of Brexit.
