Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 July 2018
1235. Deputy Maurice Quinlivan asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the number of businesses that have availed of the Be Prepared grant to date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33594/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraBrexit presents the most significant economic challenge of the past 50 years, and it is important that we prepare for any long-term structural and disruptive change that may emerge. Being prepared is crucial to ensure resilience to emerging challenges.
To promote awareness, and supported by a national Prepare For Brexit campaign, Enterprise Ireland designed and launched a €5k Be Prepared Grant that supports the costs of SME clients in preparing a plan to mitigate risks and optimise opportunities arising from Brexit. To date, 122 Be Prepared Grants have been approved to Enterprise Ireland client companies.
Enterprise Ireland provides a range of other financial and non-financial supports to companies to prepare for Brexit. These include:
- The Brexit SME Scorecard, an interactive online platform which can be used by all Irish companies to self-assess their exposure to Brexit under six business pillars.
- The Act On Programme which provides an independent consultant to companies for a course of two half day to assist them decide on specific actions to address some of the risks and opportunities from Brexit.
- The Strategic Consultancy Grant supports the hiring of a strategic consultant typically to assist the company in the development and/or the implementation of strategic initiatives. It is designed to facilitate business growth as the consultants can act as coach, mentor, facilitator, analyst for the company.
- The Market Discovery Fund specifically supports companies in their market diversification plans. The grant aims to incentivise companies to research viable and sustainable market entry strategies.
- The Agile Innovation Fund has been developed to support product, service and process innovation to build competitive advantage.
- Regional Brexit Roadshows to increase the awareness of Brexit amongst companies.
A major initiative which my Department recently introduced for all Brexit impacted firms is the €300 million Brexit Working Capital Loan Scheme, under which accessible finance is made available to businesses at favourable terms. So far, 132 companies have been approved for eligibility under this scheme.
The 31 Local Enterprise Offices nationwide have organised a range of events and initiatives to assist their client companies navigate the challenges presented by Brexit. These include:
- Technical assistance support to help micro enterprises source new markets;
- Rolling out a national Lean for Micro initiative to drive firm level competitiveness through targeted business improvement measures tailored to suit their situation;
- Brexit-focused mentoring and training initiatives;
- Local level awareness raising and information sharing seminars and workshops about Brexit, including Regional Market Diversification Seminars, and cross-border business networking;
- The provision of tailored mentoring by specialised mentor panels.
Finally, InterTradeIreland are rolling out a €2,000 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.
