Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 17 December 2020
165. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if his Department and agencies under his aegis will provide a dedicated service to answer questions from SMEs with Brexit queries in advance of and after 1 January 2021. [43667/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs a consequence of the UK leaving the EU customs union and the Single Market on 1 January, significant changes will come into effect from that date.
Substantial advice and resources on a range of issues across Government Departments/agencies, including extensive webinar content, is available on the Government Brexit portal at www.Gov.ie/Brexit. This covers issues such as customs procedures, phytosanitary and sanitary checks and, in the case of my own Department and agencies, advice ranging from enterprise supports for businesses for Brexit to regulatory issues such as product certification/product standards and obligations for importers of chemicals.
A number of Government Departments and agencies, such as Revenue and the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine, that will play a key role in operating the new checks and controls on 1 January for goods moving to, from or through the UK (excluding Northern Ireland), already operate customer helplines.
Later this month, a list of relevant Government services and contact details for key services for businesses that will be in place for 1 January will be published in the print media, on social media and made available on www.gov.ie/brexit. My Department already operates a dedicated Enterprise Information Centre and this will be operative on 1 January to direct businesses to relevant Brexit related enterprise supports and to the regulatory services that fall within the remit of my Department and its Agencies.
In respect of the Agencies under my remit, they are putting in place relevant arrangements, including key contact details, to respond to Brexit related queries from 1 January 2021 both by phone and email.
