Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Monday, 29 March 2021

Seanad Committee on the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union

Impact of Brexit on Business Sector: Discussion

Photo of Mark WallMark Wall (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome our guests to the meeting, which has been very informative so far. Senator Gallagher has already touched on my first question, which I want to tease out a little further with the witnesses. Ms Sinnamon indicated us that 828 companies have availed of the €9,000 customs ready grant. Do we have any idea of the total number of companies that could avail of that grant? Ms Sinnamon also mentioned that 1,100 companies had checked in to the online checker, which suggests that approximately 300 companies have not availed of the €9,000 grant. Do we know why that is the case?

We are hearing again today that smaller companies are most impacted, which is probably naturally the case. From our point of view, what can Enterprise Ireland offer to those smaller companies or are there any special packages for such companies most impacted? This has come up in our previous discussions with other employer and business organisations.

My final question is on diversity which our guest speakers have spoken about and is great to hear. Generally, what kind of company has Enterprise Ireland been involved with in respect of this diversity? It is also great to hear that there has been growth of €5.6 billion compared to €4.1 billion but what type of companies are involved in that growth? Our witnesses have stated that 31% of total exports were to the UK with a value of €7.9 billion in 2019 and with a value of €5.6 billion to our EU neighbours as of now. Can our witnesses give the committee some idea then of the companies that are involved in these exports? I thank the Chairman.

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