Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It was 2017. That brought the budget to approximately €22.5 million. That was capital money only. The money has been used by many of the LEOs throughout the country to anticipate what could happen to small enterprises in the context of Brexit. As a company grows and if it wishes to export, its first point of call is its nearest neighbour. The UK is the nearest neighbour for many companies that wish to start exporting. We increased the budget in 2016 and 2017 for that. The Deputy asked earlier about the measures being put in place. I believe the wake-up call came for many small enterprises when sterling increased to 91 cent. They began to take measures to respond to the fluctuations of sterling.

We have put measures in place and those companies have also put measures in place. Enterprise Ireland provides assistance for those companies. That €4.5 million in the context of the budget has been used by most local enterprises. We are monitoring the position closely for the forthcoming year. As the Deputy will be aware, many of the problems those companies will face will be in the years ahead, not now. Many companies are doing okay at present. The uncertainty that currently prevails is causing many problems for companies. Many companies have decided not to invest further at present because of that uncertainty. We also monitor the measures we have put in place.

In the context of the budget for 2018-2019, we will monitor the position closely with respect to additional resources that may be required. Currently, the OECD - representatives of which were here last week - is carrying out a survey of our small to medium enterprises, particularly in terms of their productivity. Their productivity has fallen a little. Those in the OECD are professional people. We want to put in place measures to ensure that we increase productivity in the small and medium enterprise sector. We will be examining our preparations for budget 2018-2019 in the context of small businesses to ensure they remain the lifeline for businesses in rural Ireland and contribute greatly to rural economies.