Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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260. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the extent to which her Department, the IDA and Enterprise Ireland can plan for a worst case scenario in the aftermath of Brexit; if it is possible to make good any such losses by alternative means; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6632/17]

Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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There is a whole of Government approach in place focusing on Brexit issues and my Department and its agencies are to the forefront of this effort. Over the past number of months, I have tasked my Department officials with making Brexit their number one priority.

In advance of the Referendum my Department conducted a contingency risk assessment of the potential impacts of Brexit across policy areas of my Department. We are continuing to refine our analysis post-Referendum and we have been working with Agencies to put in place actions to mitigate risks and maximize opportunities.

Enterprise Ireland are working intensively with their client base with a particular focus on:

- Consolidating and growing exports into the UK market;

- Expanding the Irish export global footprint, re-orienting towards N America, Canada, Asia and the Middle-East;

- Expanding the EI Export Platform.

IDA Ireland is continuing to work with its existing client base to assist and support them in their growth and expansion in Ireland. The IDA is also exploring the potential for winning more FDI on account of Brexit and the Agency and its staff are already working hard with this goal in mind.

At the many events I attend on a daily basis I am engaging with stakeholders listening to their views about challenges and opportunities particularly in the context of Brexit. I have met with a wide range of representative organisations, to hear their views.

In addition, my Department held a large stakeholder engagement event in Carrick-on-Shannon on 30 January where we heard the views of over 200 stakeholders. These engagements, along with a number of studies being undertaken through my department to determine the impact of Brexit on Ireland’s trading patterns provide essential intelligence for me, as I develop a response to Brexit that has the best interests of our citizens and companies at heart.