Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Oireachtas Joint Committee on Business, Employment and Innovation is keeping a watchful eye on Brexit, particularly the response by enterprise agencies. There seems to be concerns that some of the small and medium-sized enterprises, SMEs, are not preparing for Brexit and, in some instances, are unaware of the implications for their business. In addition, SMEs seem to be unaware that they may be indirectly impacted by Brexit. Let me give an example. Last Friday afternoon, I visited the Port of Waterford, which only ships goods to mainland Europe. It does not ship to the United Kingdom. It was one of the first companies that I have visited which viewed Brexit as potentially advantageous. It is not often one hears about advantages but the Port of Waterford Company believes its business may grow as a result of Brexit and there may be no negative impact from Brexit because the port does not ship directly to the UK. How will the Government address the problem that many SMEs do not realise their business may be affected by Brexit?