Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We will have an opportunity to address some of the concerns I have heard outlined, which are linked to these amendments even though they are not in them, in respect of the ability to drive across the Border and so on.

In respect of amendment No. 15, the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation already commissioned a wide-ranging review by the OECD on SME and entrepreneurship policies in March of last year. Part of this extensive review is an examination of the provision of supports for indigenous businesses and how they are assisted by Departments and Government agencies. The report will examine the strategic framework and delivery system for SME and entrepreneurship policy in Ireland. It will be published in the third quarter of this year and we will await its findings and recommendations with interest.

The Brexit loan scheme was launched in 2018 and I am pleased to say there has been a steady stream of applications so far. The Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland, SBCI, received 462 applications under the scheme up until 22 February, of which 413 have been deemed eligible for a loan under the scheme. Of those, 81 have been progressed to sanction at finance provider level, to a total value of over €17 million. It is important to remember that this is not a loan scheme for businesses to carry on as usual. We are asking businesses to carefully consider what they need to do to successfully address their Brexit challenge through innovating, changing or adapting their business model in some capacity. These responses may include strengthening their product offering, developing new markets to diversify their trade footprint, changing their organisational structure or developing new capabilities. There are some very good examples of companies that are doing that with the support of Enterprise Ireland. Carbery Group is probably the best example of that. A number of weeks ago, a very significant grant was given to it to help it diversify away from an over-reliance on the British market as regards cheese.

Work continues on the longer-term future growth loan scheme, which will help eligible businesses invest strategically in a post-Brexit environment.The scheme was announced as part of the budget 2019 package and is expected to be launched early this year. In 2018, Enterprise Ireland provided approval for funding of €74 million to 535 Brexit-exposed companies across a range of Brexit financial supports. In addition, there were interventions with more than 1,000 companies that have significant exports to the UK. In excess of 1,000 companies have attended Brexit advisory clinics throughout the country, 4,400 companies have completed the Brexit SME score card, while almost 1,000 have completed the Enterprise Ireland online customs insights programme since December. Visits to the Prepare for Brexit website, which contains information on a range of Enterprise Ireland, local enterprise office, LEO, and other agency supports, have increased tenfold over the past 12 weeks. We have reached 90% of the SME audience with our Brexit support communications. As one would expect, as Brexit gets closer, there has been a dramatic increase in the engagement and interest from businesses. As they realise that this is actually happening, they are reaching out for the necessary supports and advice. Of course, we do not know how Brexit is going to happen, but we are doing everything we can to ensure that we do not face the challenges of a no-deal Brexit and instead have a managed, predictable Brexit that moves us into a transition period for the next two to four years and allows time and space for adaptation to the new reality.

The Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation has also allocated an additional €8 million for Brexit staffing and supports across enterprise and regulatory agencies, including the roll-out of new customs training through the LEOs and Enterprise Ireland, an Enterprise Ireland guide to best practice on managing currency volatility, and an addition €1 million for InterTradeIreland which has used that money very well, particularly for cross-Border companies.

I do not propose to support the amendment because I am not sure it is good legislative practice to include a requirement for a review mechanism when a review is under way. Of course, this House or the Dáil can bring in the Minister at any given time and demand accountability, information on uptake and so on. What is being provided for in this amendment is already happening. Accountability to this House and to the Dáil will be very clear.

On amendment No. 28, reporting on engagement with the EU is a separate matter not related to this very focused and streamlined legislation which is about putting the necessary arrangements in place for maintaining continuity for citizens and businesses in a no-deal Brexit scenario. However, I assure Senators that the Government will continue to make the case for support in a most robust manner at EU level and that Ministers will be regularly updating the Oireachtas on their Department's engagement at EU level in their areas of responsibility. Today, as we speak, a team from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is meeting its counterparts in the European Commission. They are trying to scope out and plan the appropriate response for a no-deal Brexit scenario. This work is already happening in a very serious way and has been for many weeks now. Of course, Ministers like me have to come into this House and be constantly questioned and tested on our responses but we do not need to add to this legislation a requirement for a reporting mechanism a month after Britain leaves the EU. We will be going way beyond that in terms of accountability for the decisions and actions we are taking and for the funding that may be required to back them up. Supporting vulnerable sectors like agrifood and farming in the context of a no-deal Brexit that may involve tariffs will require a very significant amount of money.