Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 11 July 2019
406. Deputy Lisa Chambers asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the uptake of each Brexit related support under the remit of her Department in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30733/19]
Amharc ar fhreagra443. Deputy Aindrias Moynihan asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the uptake of the schemes which are available to businesses to prepare for Brexit in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31426/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 406 and 443 together.
As nature of the UK's departure from the EU still remains to be determined, Brexit continues to represent a significant challenge for businesses in Ireland, one which cannot be underestimated. That is why my Department and its agencies have put in place extensive supports, schemes and advisory resources to ensure that to ensure that businesses around the country are prepared for Brexit.
While we cannot yet know the form that Brexit will take, these measures aim to assist businesses in identifying and managing key risk areas and develop practical preparatory actions regardless of the circumstances of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.
For example, I allocated an additional €5m to the network of Local Enterprise Offices, €3m to Enterprise Ireland, €2m to IDA Ireland and €1m to InterTradeIreland to help businesses prepare for Brexit, together with funding for the longer-term Future Growth Loan Scheme and the IDA Regional Property Programme. I also provided extra staff for the regulatory bodies of my Department to ensure they are properly resourced to address the additional demands that Brexit will create.
The Local Enterprise Offices [LEOs] are the first-stop-shop for anyone seeking guidance and support on starting or growing their business. The LEOs have organised various events to enable companies to learn about the potential impacts and opportunities of Brexit.
In addition, 644 LEO clients have received one-to-one mentoring solely focused on Brexit. Technical Assistance Grants for Micro Export are offered as an incentive for LEO clients to explore and develop new market opportunities. 605 LEO clients have been approved for the Technical Assistance Grant.
The Local Enterprise Office interactive one day Prepare Your Business for Customs workshop helps businesses understand the key customs concepts, documentation and processes required to succeed in a post Brexit environment. 531 Participants have so far attended this Customs Training.
InterTrade Ireland also plays a major role as part of Ireland’s Brexit response and offers Brexit-related advisory services to eligible businesses. So far this year, more than 3,200 SMEs have directly engaged with the Brexit Advisory Service.
ITI offers a Brexit Start to Plan voucher and Brexit Implementation Voucher schemes, which enables businesses to get professional advice on how best to plan, prepare and implement for the UK's withdrawal from the European Union. These supports help businesses obtain advice on specific areas such as tariffs, currency management, regulatory and customs issues and movement of labour, goods and services.
ITI Brexit Start to Plan vouchers are worth up to €2,250 (inclusive of VAT) each. 1,613 businesses have applied for a Brexit Start to Plan voucher, of which 1,405 have been approved. ITI new Brexit Implementation Voucher provides financial support up to £5,000/€5,625 (inclusive of VAT), with InterTradeIreland paying 50%. This will allow businesses to implement critical changes making them better prepared to deal with a new trading relationship.
The Brexit Loan Scheme provides relatively short-term working capital, 1 to 3 years, to eligible businesses with up to 499 employees to help them to innovate, change or adapt to mitigate their Brexit challenges. Businesses can confirm their eligibility with the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI) and, if deemed eligible, can apply to one of the participating finance providers for a loan under the scheme.
As at 5 July, there have been 669 applications for eligibility under the scheme, of which 608 have been approved to date by SBCI. 150 of those applications have progressed to sanction at bank value, to a total value of €32.93 million.
The Future Growth Loan Scheme makes up to €300 million of loans available with a term of 8-10 years. This scheme is available to eligible businesses in Ireland and the primary agriculture (farmers) and seafood sectors to support strategic long-term investment. The Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland, the scheme operator, opened for eligibility applications on 17th April and up to July 8 it received 524 eligibility applications and issued 482 eligibility letters.
Enterprise Ireland has established a Prepare for Brexit online portal and communications campaign, as well as an online “Brexit SME Scorecard” to help Irish businesses self-asses their exposure to Brexit and a “Be Prepared Grant” to support SME clients in planning to mitigate risks arising from Brexit. It has also launched a new Eurozone Strategy to help SMEs broaden their export footprint beyond the UK.
Over 5,300 business have used Enterprise Ireland’s Brexit Scorecard to date and 85% of EI client firms have a plan in place, while 199 applications for the Be Prepared grant have been approved. 266 EI clients have received funding under its “Act On” programme, which supports the engagement of a consultant to help clients identify weaknesses and improve resilience. EI has also hosted 16 Brexit Advisory Clinics.
EI also launched a Customs Insights Online course at the beginning of the year. This is a new online training support to help all businesses understand how customs work including the documentation and process required to operate and succeed post Brexit. The Customs Insights course explains in clear and simple terms the main customs rules and included the key actions companies can take to prepare for customs after Brexit and the options from Revenue that are available to make the customs process more efficient. This will be available for any company to use whether they are importers or exporters and also whether they are agency clients or not. There have been over 1,260 Customs Insights Course participants.
While I have seen a very positive uptake of the supports available, I am conscious that the delays to Brexit may have led businesses to defer their immediate planning. However, the UK’s exit from the EU will mean changes for Irish businesses. I want businesses to know that my Department and its agencies are here to help. The existing supports, schemes and advice are in place to ensure that businesses are prepared for any Brexit scenario.
|
Scheme |
Uptake (28 June 2019 unless otherwise stated) |
|
Brexit Loan Scheme |
669 applications received, 608 approved by SBCI, 150 Loans progressed to sanction at bank level to a value of €32.93 million. (Uptake as of 5 July) |
|
Future Growth Loan Scheme |
524 applications received, 482 approved by SBCI, 17 Loans progressed to sanction at bank level to a value of €2.96 million. (Uptake as of 8 July) |
|
Enterprise Ireland Brexit Scorecard - online platform for Irish companies to self-assess their exposure to Brexit |
5,334 Brexit Scorecards have been completed. 1095 LEO clients have completed the scorecard. |
|
Enterprise Ireland Be Prepared Grant |
199 Be Prepared Grants have been approved |
|
Enterprise Ireland Market Discovery Fund - A support to EI clients to research new markets |
171 companies have been approved under this initiative[1] |
|
Enterprise Ireland Prepare to Export Scorecard |
3,833 Prepare to Export Scorecards have been completed |
|
Enterprise Ireland Customs Insights Online Course |
1,269 Customs Insights Course participants |
|
Enterprise Ireland Agile Innovation Fund - Gives rapid fast-track access to innovation funding |
55 Agile Innovation projects have been approved |
|
Enterprise Ireland Brexit Advisory Clinics |
16 Brexit Advisory Clinics have been run with over 1,200 in attendance |
|
Enterprise Ireland Brexit “Act On Programme” – A support funding the engagement of a consultant to devise report with recommendations to help clients address weaknesses and improve resilience |
266 “Act on” Plans have been completed |
|
Enterprise Ireland Strategic Consultancy Grant – A grant to assist EI clients to hire a strategic consultant for a set period |
1,073 Strategic Consultancy Grants have been approved |
|
Local Enterprise Office Technical Assistance Grant for Micro Export - an incentive for LEO clients to explore and develop new market opportunities |
605 clients were approved assistance under the Technical Assistance Grant[2] |
|
Local Enterprise Office LEAN for Micro - The LEO Lean4Micro offer was developed in collaboration between the EI Lean department and the LEOs to tailor the EI Lean offer for LEO micro enterprise clients |
340 LEO clients have participated in the programme |
|
Local Enterprise Office Mentoring |
644 mentoring participants solely focused on Brexit |
|
Local Enterprise Office Brexit Seminars/Events |
4,655 Participants at the Brexit Information events |
|
Customs Training Participants |
531 Participants attended Customs Training |
|
InterTradeIreland Brexit Advisory Service |
3,219 SMEs have directly engaged with the Brexit Advisory Service in 2019. This is in addition to the 4,175 engagements in 2018. |
|
InterTradeIreland Brexit Start to Plan Vouchers |
There have been 1,613 applications, with 1,405 approved and 20 still pending assessment. |
|
Pilot Online Retail Scheme administered by Enterprise Ireland |
11 retailers were awarded funding in March 2019. A second call of the Scheme will open on 19 June and will close 31 July 2019. |
1. The Market Discovery Fund figure listed is lower than that of the end of February document figure of 251. The updated figure refers to the number of businesses approved, while the earlier number of 251 referred to the number of projects approved. This is now how it is reported to the Board, where projects was used previously.
2. The figure of 651 provided on 08 May was incorrect and should have indicated uptake of 551. This was due to human error
