Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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696. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if an assessment has been carried out on the way import duty would impact on the trading of goods with Britain and Northern Ireland post-Brexit; and if import duty will be set at 23%. [34605/16]

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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699. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if she will provide a statistical breakdown on an annual basis of cross-Border trade and tourism in County Donegal since 2014; and if her Department has conducted research into the likely implications arising from Brexit on trade and tourism throughout the Border region. [34608/16]

Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 696 and 699 together.

Promoting cross-border trade in light of the potential impacts of Brexit is a key priority for the Government as a whole.

It is, of course, hard to predict at this stage what the impact of Brexit will be for all of Ireland, including border counties such as Donegal. Much will depend on the nature of the deal that will be negotiated between the UK and the EU. This Government will seek, during that process, to highlight our unique economic ties with Northern Ireland.

It is clear that the cross-border market on the island is a particularly important one for SMEs, with nearly two thirds of Northern Ireland small firm exports going South and one sixth of Ireland’s small firm exports going North.

InterTrade Ireland is initiating a research project to examine the impact of differing trade regimes which may emerge in the post-Brexit environment. This study will include an analysis of tariff rates to look at the range of possible impacts for products currently traded between both jurisdictions.

I am engaged strongly with Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland to ensure that Irish jobs are maintained and created. I am in ongoing communication with these agencies, and chair a Brexit Coordination Group which includes the senior management of my Department and the CEOs of the agencies.

IDA Ireland will continue to work to implement its business development strategy for the North West, which includes Donegal, to help it maximise investment in the Region. Among its targets, this strategy will see the Agency seeking to secure potential “second site” investments from companies with existing operations in Dublin, as well as pursuing new investments for the region.

Enterprise Ireland is working with its 1,500 clients who export to the UK, looking at the individual challenges faced by companies in every county in Ireland and also on a sectoral level, as some sectors are more exposed than others.

From a strategic perspective Enterprise Ireland has a two pronged approach. It is working to assist companies to maintain and grow UK exports and extend their international reach. It is also supporting companies in enhancing their competitiveness to protect and grow Irish exports and jobs. In this regard, EI is assisting clients to improve their processes to drive efficiencies and cost reductions and undertake R&D and innovation with a view to improving existing products and processes or developing new ones.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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697. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if an assessment has been carried out into the future competitiveness of the SME retail sector post-Brexit, particularly the implications for imports and exports to and from Britain and Northern Ireland. [34606/16]

Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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In terms of assessing the impacts of Brexit on businesses, I have tasked my Department officials with making Brexit their number one priority. I am establishing a new focused Brexit Unit within the Department, and a Brexit Senior Officials Group to monitor developments across the Department on a regular basis at official level.

As chair of the Retail Consultation Forum, I am also very aware of the specific issues faced by the retail sector. The Forum provides a platform for my Department to engage directly with the concerns of retailers, and its work programme is focused on identifying opportunities and responses to challenges in a collaborative manner to maintain the competitiveness of the sector and support sustainable jobs growth in the retail sector across all regions.

Currently, the Forum’s work programme has four key areas of focus: reducing energy costs, maximising opportunities in the digital economy, identifying skills needs for the sector, and the revitalisation of town centres. These working groups are focused on maximising the benefit of concrete initiatives and funding streams, such as the fund of €10 million made available by the Government this year for the Town and Village Renewal Scheme, and further funding of €12 million in 2017. Effective use of funds such as this will be of particular support to small and medium retailers. Progressing the work areas of the Forum will provide support to the retail sector in facing Brexit-related challenges.

I will be chairing the next meeting of the Retail Consultation Forum on 21st November. Brexit is now a standing item on the agenda and members of the Forum will be briefed at this meeting by senior officials from the Department of the Taoiseach on the whole of Government response to the Brexit-related challenges. This will also provide retail members of the Forum with an opportunity to outline their concerns regarding the impact of Brexit on the sector.

At this stage, it is difficult to predict what the precise impact of Brexit will be on specific business sectors, and much will depend on the nature of the deal negotiated between the UK and the EU. This Government will ensure, during that process, to highlight our unique economic ties with both Britain and Northern Ireland.

As Minister, I have responsibility for supporting SMEs across the whole of the economy. I am making sure that I am armed with the detail of how Brexit impacts on each sector and each company type – be they SMEs, micro enterprises, or larger companies, before I finalise any proposals about specific measures. My Department is scoping out possible responses to the short term currency challenge and I expect to be in a position to announce more detail, based on actual company needs shortly.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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698. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if an assessment has been carried out to examine the implications for the cost of living for communities in rural and Border areas as a result of Brexit on the import and export of consumer goods; and the future implications for job creation in the region. [34607/16]

Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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As Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, my focus is on improving Ireland’s competitiveness performance. Ensuring Ireland is a competitive location to establish and run a business is essential for job creation. Ireland’s competitiveness also impacts on the comparative cost of living between Ireland and other regions with which we compete, including between North and South of the Border on the island. Brexit means we must do more across a wide range of policy areas to enhance our attractiveness as a location to start and locate a business relative to the UK. The most recent data from the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business shows that Ireland is ahead of the UK in terms of ease of starting a business and paying tax but is behind the UK in the overall rankings.

Enterprise 2025, the Government’s long-term enterprise policy is an ambitious strategy, with the objective of delivering growth over the next decade that is sustainable. The Regional Action Plans for Jobs are the key instrument by which we are seeking to deliver on the objectives of Enterprise 2025 at regional level. Implementation Groups have been established in the North East and North West Regions for their respective Action Plans and my officials have received the first reports on progress on the Action Plans and will consider with the stakeholders the next steps required.

I have also asked the Chairman of the National Competitiveness Council to review the competitiveness of Ireland versus the UK. I expect the work of the Council to be completed early in the new year.

In addition, InterTrade Ireland is actively developing a programme of information sessions and resources to support businesses through the challenging period of exchange rate volatility and I will be participating in their programme of engagements over the coming months to assess for myself the competitiveness issues for businesses and communities in the Border areas.