Mr. Kevin Sherry:

I do not have my phone with me. Although the outcome of the Brexit negotiations is currently uncertain, our role is to help companies prepare for the worst and hope for the best in terms of whatever type of Brexit may occur. Since the referendum in June 2016 we have undertaken a wide range of initiatives which, in the interests of time, I will not address individually. We have worked with companies at an individual and sectoral level to help them respond to and prepare for the outcome of Brexit, whatever that may be, and have particularly focused on helping companies take practical measures in that regard. A number of initiatives involve market diversification and we are actively working with companies to help them diversify their global footprint. Last year, we helped companies win slightly fewer than 1,400 new overseas contracts and establish 350 new overseas presences whereby companies are putting new operations on the ground to help them win business in international markets. Some 56 companies established a presence outside of the UK. Assistance was provided to first-time exporters. We brought almost 1,000 international buyers into Ireland, which is extremely important in terms of helping them to win business. We run a very extensive programme of ministerial-led trade missions and other trade events and will undertake almost 200 major international trade events and 57 ministerial-led trade events this year. We have realigned our financial support and recently launched a new market discovery fund that is providing financial assistance to companies to help them investigate and target new business in international markets.

On innovation, one of the areas in which companies can compete and win against the competition, we last year approved over €100,000 in funding for 99 companies to invest in research and development. We oversaw 436 industry innovation projects through gateways or connections between industry and technology centres and over 1,000 collaborative innovations between industry and research centres around the country. Those measures are very important in terms of helping companies capitalise on the available technology. Aligned with that, we have recently launched a new agile innovation fund which is focused on providing a fast response research and development and financial support to companies.

On competitiveness, we have assisted over 1,000 companies with lean business practices, which is fundamental to help them drive their own competitiveness. We will very shortly be launching a new offer in that regard.

In terms of client numbers, we have more than 1,670 client companies currently exporting to the UK, just over 651 of which export more than 20% of their output to the UK and Northern Ireland, which is a very important market for them. The main sectors impacted are construction, construction services and products, engineering, agricultural machinery, timber, furniture and the very large agrifood sector. We are intensively working with that grouping of companies to help them prepare for and respond to every eventuality.

Brexit probably represents one of the biggest economic challenges of the past 50 years in terms of long-term structural change. The effect on currency in terms of the change in the exchange rate has impacted several companies. Our role is to help companies prepare for the long-term implications of Brexit. We have launched a scorecard to help companies assess in a very practical way what actions they can immediately take in spite of there being some unknowns. More than 2,100 companies have completed the scorecard and started to take action and we have provided financial support to assist those companies with practical plans. We are putting on Brexit roadshows in many counties around the country and have a group of consultants based in Ireland who are focused on helping companies with international reach to assess what the implications of Brexit are for them and help them to respond in a practical way. We also continue to run Brexit advisory clinics around the country, with nine held to date, including one in Portlaoise last week, with one to be held in Claremorris next week and another with InterTradeIreland before the end of the month. The clinics address practical matters in terms of financial and supply chain management, transport and logistics.

We have recently launched an international digital marketing campaign called "The Irish Advantage". It is a digital boots on the ground initiative to assist companies position themselves in international markets. Phase 1 of the campaign, focusing on the construction and medtech areas, has been launched in France, Germany and the Netherlands. Phase 2, focusing on FinTech and financial services, will shortly commence and will target the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, Italy and the Nordic countries.

As Mr. Donoghue mentioned, we received sanction for additional resources within our organisation, including provision in budget 2017 for some 39 staff positions, 37 of which have been filled, and an allocation of an additional €1.3 million in budget 2018, as a result of which additional staff are being recruited.

In conclusion, we will continue to work with companies to prepare for any type of Brexit. It is a big challenge but our focus and our message to companies is to concentrate on the things we can influence and impact, which are competitiveness, innovation and diversification in terms of companies broadening their export base outside the UK. Too many Irish companies are overly dependent on the UK market.