James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the delegates for their evidence and observations which have been useful. I have a couple of questions and it is probably better to ask them together to let the delegates answer them in whatever order they wish.

My first question has been touched on. I was interested to hear about vouchers. If I heard correctly, a €5,000 voucher is being prepared under Enterprise Ireland, while there is a €2,000 voucher under InterTradeIreland for a Brexit readiness pack. These are useful and of practical assistance to businesses. As a Kildare Deputy, I come from the midlands-Leinster region. There has been a strong uptake in the Border region, but I have not seen the same degree of engagement or concern among companies local to me. I held a meeting last week on Brexit, at which representatives of the local chamber of commerce and the local enterprise office, LEO, provided support and materials of assistance to local businesses in trying to prepare for Brexit. The meeting was successful and well attended, but I got a sense from some of the attendees to whom I spoke that they did not believe Brexit would affect them because, for example, they did not do business in the United Kingdom. Like the storm we are told that is imminent this week, some people will not take this issue seriously until it hits. Is there a degree of complacency or inertia and is it a concern? Even if the delegates are making their best efforts, some people are not quite there yet, particularly in SMEs, and need a nudge to get them to sit up and take the issue seriously.

My next question is on a different note. IDA Ireland referred to the opportunities which would arise from Brexit. I agree that one such opportunity arises from the potential move by academic researchers, institutions and investigators and their teams out of the United Kingdom lock, stock and barrel to Ireland because they want to access funding under the European Research Council, Horizon 2020 and other schemes. How we are doing on that front? Have we had any notable win to date? Are people on their way here? Which agencies are chasing them, including, for example, those represented in this room? What are their portfolios in that regard?

On a related matter, the delegation from Enterprise Ireland referred to the agile innovation fund, which is great to see. It also referred to technology gateways. I acknowledge Enterprise Ireland's support for the Mid-East Regional Innovation Think Space, MERITS, centre in Naas which is only getting started, but it is a positive development that is great to see. Programmes such as the agile innovation fund are welcome, but I would like to have more information on them. It is not clear where the LEO service stops, the Enterprise Ireland service starts and stops and where the Science Foundation Ireland service starts. It would be great if the delegates drew the picture of the remit of their agencies.