Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

On no-deal preparedness, we have not taken the decision to step down our preparedness in the way the United Kingdom has, but those measures were complete, or close to complete, at the end of March in any event.

Deputy Howlin asked about the uptake of customs registration numbers by businesses. Revenue has identified 84,000 businesses that may need a customs registration number, that is, an economic operator registration and identification, EORI, number, although they might not all need one. Thus far, 45,000 businesses have such a number, while approximately 4,800 customer numbers were issued in the past three months alone. Having an EORI number is the minimum requirement for businesses to be able to move goods from or through the UK in a no-deal scenario. The application can be made quickly, easily and at no cost through Revenue's secure online service. Companies should also ensure that they, or an agent on their behalf, have a facility, that is, software, to make a customs declaration and that they know the commodity code of their products, as this is used to determine the import and customs duties payable. Last week, customs officers were present at Dublin and Rosslare ports and on board a number of ships, where they issued information leaflets to help importers, exporters and truck drivers with concerns or questions about what they need to do post Brexit. No importer or exporter, therefore, can claim not to be informed at this stage.

With regard to the uptake of business supports, 567 applications have been made for the Brexit loan scheme, of which 511 have been approved. More than 5,000 Brexit scorecards have been completed by Enterprise Ireland companies and almost 1,000 by LEO companies. A total of 182 be prepared grants have been approved, 140 projects have been approved under the market discovery fund, 3,000 prepare to export scorecards have been completed, 1,200 people have participated on the customs insights online course, 47 products have been approved under the agile innovation fund and 16 Brexit advisory clinics have taken place with more than 1,200 people present. The Brexit: act on programme funds consultants to help improve resilience and 210 plans have been completed. A total of 1,000 strategic consultancy grants to assist Enterprise Ireland clients have been approved. In February, under the online retail scheme, 11 retailers were awarded funding and there will be a second call. With regard to smaller businesses supported by local enterprise offices, 518 clients have been approved for grants for technical assistance, 247 for the lean for micro programme, 562 participants solely focused on Brexit have been provided mentors and 4,213 participants have attended Brexit seminars or events. A total of 2,419 small and medium enterprises have directly engaged InterTradeIreland for advice. There have been 1,400 applications for vouchers, of which 1,200 have been approved so far.

With regard to the public information campaign, people are familiar with the getting Ireland Brexit ready campaign. There have been 101 stakeholder events in 21 counties, with recent advisory clinics in Laois, Dublin, Monaghan and Cork and customs training in Laois. In terms of financial assistance available, €300 million has been set aside in the Brexit loan scheme for affordable loans of between €25,000 and €1.5 million to eligible businesses. A separate €300 million future growth loan scheme for SMEs, including farmers, is in place to support strategic long-term investment post-Brexit to reorient products people make away from the UK market. There are Enterprise Ireland be prepared grants, start to plan vouchers from InterTradeIreland, the market discovery fund and the agile innovation fund that I mentioned earlier.

In addition, the legislation passed by the Houses includes the introduction of postponed accounting to allow all traders for a certain period account for VAT in their bimonthly VAT return instead of at the point of import as well as a provision to enable Enterprise Ireland to provide a lending investment instrument for client companies to help Irish businesses stay competitive, innovate and grow. It is important for businesses and other organisations to be aware of the supports available and, if not already doing so, to take this additional time as an opportunity to take the necessary steps.

Road haulage to the UK is facilitated by the EU's community licence that will allow international hauliers from member states, including Ireland, to move freely within the EU. As part of contingency planning, the European Commission proposes to adopt a temporary unilateral measure for nine months after Brexit to allow access for UK hauliers to the EU provided it does the same. There is concern about delays at Dover and Calais, and it is still uncertain as to whether Irish trucks can or will be fast tracked through Dover and Calais, but this is what we seek.

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