Lisa Chambers (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It produces parts for agricultural machines. It stated its business has dropped considerably in the past two months. It has noticed a dramatic drop in recent months. Its view is it will never recoup those losses or make up that lost business. It hopes for some certainly when Brexit stabilises and that it will be able to get back on track. It has been able to take the hit because it is successful and has built up sufficient buffers. I imagine there are many other small and medium sized enterprises in a similar boat. This particular company was very positive about the supports it had been given in terms of training for customs and revenue but felt there was not any support to deal with the loss of consumer confidence, the lack of purchasing and the normal trajectory for sales in recent months. This is something for the Department to look at in future when Brexit stabilises.

I have some questions on the Revised Estimates. Subhead A8 on local enterprise development has an increase of €5 million, or 15%, to allow LEOs meet increasing demand for their services. Will the Minister give a breakdown of these increasing demands? Have the LEOs requested specific additional funds for specific services? Are they related to Brexit or expansion? What is the money being used for?