Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 July 2018
1284. Deputy Aindrias Moynihan asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the various schemes available to businesses to prepare for Brexit; the uptake for each scheme in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34617/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department and its agencies are working hard to ensure that potentially impacted firms are taking the necessary steps to prepare and mitigate risks and to take advantage of potential opportunities.
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.
Enterprise Ireland provides a range of 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 €5k Be Prepared Grant that supports the costs of SME clients in preparing a plan to mitigate risks and optimise opportunities arising 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.
- National Brexit Roadshows to increase the awareness of Brexit amongst companies.
Enterprise Ireland Brexit Related Schemes
|
Scheme |
Uptake to date |
|
Brexit SME Scorecard |
2,351 Scorecards completed |
|
Act On Initiative |
51 Brexit Plans completed |
|
Be Prepared Grant (€5K) |
122 grants approved |
|
Strategic Consultancy Grant |
1,033 grants approved |
|
Market Discovery Fund |
59 Grants approved |
|
Agile Innovation Fund |
18 Grants approved |
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.
Local Enterprise Offices Brexit Related Schemes
LEO Brexit Related Mentoring from 1 st June 2017 - 31 st March 2018*
|
No. of mentoring assignments per LEO |
Mentoring assignments including an element of Brexit mentoring |
Brexit specific mentoring assignments |
No. of participants attending Brexit focused Group Events |
|
|
Total |
4,213 |
1,284 |
126 |
3,317 |
*Data in respect of Q2 2018 is currently being compiled.
Other LEO Brexit Related Schemes
|
Scheme |
Uptake to date |
|
‘Technical Assistance for Micro-enterprises’ (TAME) |
289 Projects approved in 2017 |
|
Training including on specific Brexit challenges |
30,373 participants in 2017 |
InterTrade Ireland (ITI) has a key role to play in protecting North-South trade in the context of Brexit. A key part of ITI’s Brexit work is the provision for SMEs of a Brexit ‘Start to Plan’ €2,000 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.
InterTrade Ireland Brexit Related Schemes
|
Scheme |
Uptake to date |
|
Start to Plan |
160 Vouchers |
