Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

At the end of the day we must all be conscious of the fact that we do not know what will transpire in the weeks and months ahead, in terms of the legislative flow from decisions made in this House and the impact that Brexit will have on the broader economy. While it could be argued that the non-exporting indigenous sector may not be immediately impacted by Brexit because it is not exporting, there is no doubt that there could be negative knock-on effects from a slowdown in the economy or a squeeze on credit, for example. In that context, the proposal by Deputy Naughten has merit. We are unsure and we must take imaginative steps to assess the potential impacts of Brexit in the time ahead. The Deputy's provision of a 90-day limit would bring a sense of urgency to the process undertaken by the agency tasked with carrying out the assessment of the non-exporting indigenous sector to see if there are pinch points affecting it. Credit and cashflow are issues in that regard. We have consistently said that small and medium businesses have serious difficulties in accessing funding from the pillar banks. Some companies may need cashflow carry over in terms of inventory, stock and so on, but the banks are very reticent about lending to the SME sector. In that context, there is a lot of merit in Deputy Naughten's proposal and I urge the Minister to give it serious consideration, especially as it does not do anything materially to undermine the legislation's aim of ensuring that there is a legislative bulwark against a hard Brexit.

Regardless of what type of Brexit transpires, it will have an impact. As the Taoiseach said, Brexit of whatever type is a lose, lose, lose. Who gains from Brexit? Nobody gains and in that context, even the indigenous, non-exporting sector could find itself in real difficulty. I urge the Minister to give the proposal serious consideration. Beyond that, there is the fact that Enterprise Ireland is statutorily charged with dealing with companies that are exporting and which have more than a certain number of employees. There is a gap there in terms of indigenous non-exporting companies that may want to put out feelers vis-à-visinternational markets. They may want to take that next step but there is a shortage of policy and supports in that area to enable those in the non-exporting indigenous sector to move into the exporting sector. It is a daunting task and while I know that toolboxes are available for assessing export markets and so on, it is still a big leap for smaller companies. This is an area that the Department should keep an eye on, given that these companies are the backbone of our economy. They are not often flagged and heralded but they provide the majority of employment throughout this State.

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