Tony McLoughlin (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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579. 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, with special consideration to the case of the Border region and counties Sligo and Leitrim; if it is possible to make good any such losses by alternative means; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14987/17]

Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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Brexit has been on our radar for a number of years and we have been planning accordingly.

In order for me, as Minister with responsibility for supporting business across all sectors, to develop initiatives to support businesses that are impacted by Brexit, I need to fully understand business needs and to understand the various scenarios that may confront us.

In this regard, my officials are currently analysing the outputs from a series of structured engagements with companies of different sizes, across different sectors and across the regions on the impact of currency fluctuations on exposed companies.

The information gathered during the course of this engagement is detailed and informative and when fully analysed will give me a clear indication of the needs of SMEs to help them address the short and more medium and long term challenges of Brexit.

I recently hosted a Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Brexit Stakeholder Engagement Event in Carrick-On-Shannon on 30 January, attended by over two hundred Departmental stakeholders – with significant attendance from the local business community. This provided a valuable opportunity to hear from companies and stakeholders about the impact of Brexit on their businesses

My Department is also funding a number of research projects to:

- improve our understanding of the impact of different trade and tariff regimes which might be imposed following Brexit;

- provide data on the extent and concentration of cross border trade, including information on this trade by product and firm types and barriers to trade;

- to examine the implications for the most exposed enterprise sectors - in terms of trading and economic relationships - of the UK being outside of the European Single Market and Customs Union.

In terms of my Agencies, Enterprise Ireland has been systematically engaging with its 1,500 clients that export to the UK. EI will continue to provide continued supports to its client companies who now directly employ over 201,000 jobs across the country.

IDA Ireland is constantly engaged with clients across its entire portfolio and in the months leading up to the UK referendum it engaged with clients and prospective clients in relation to the potential impact of Brexit.  The IDA has a Team involved in strategic scenario planning, which continues to work on ensuring that the Agency’s strategy is fit for purpose in light of the referendum results in the UK.

The Local Enterprise Offices are a key resource for the micro and small business sector, particularly in the regions. I have obtained an additional Capital allocation of €4m for Local Enterprise Development in 2017, which will be used to implement a series of Brexit-related measures in the LEOs.

IDA, EI, and the LEOs are making a significant contribution to employment in Sligo and Leitrim.

There are currently 27 multinational companies employing over 2,700 people in these counties.

EI companies currently support 1,546 and 922 jobs in Sligo and Leitrim respectively. EI job announcements in 2016 in the North West included LotusWorks (50 jobs in Sligo) and VistaMed (200 jobs in Leitrim).

The Sligo and Leitrim LEOs are fully engaged in supporting the micro-enterprise and small business sectors in their areas to create and sustain jobs. In 2016, the number of jobs that were created by micro-enterprises that had been supported by LEO Sligo and LEO Leitrim were 38 and 44 respectively.

The Regional Action Plans for Jobs initiative is a concrete example of the targeted approach we are undertaking to boost regional employment. While the Regions will benefit from our wider Brexit responses, the implications of the Brexit vote and the challenges and opportunities that the decision pose for specific Regions has been discussed at the meetings of the Implementation Committees for the Regional Action Plan for Jobs that have taken place since the June decision.

The North East/North West Regional Action Plan for Jobs is stimulating job creation across the region, by facilitating collaborative initiatives between the public and private sector, and through the provision of new competitive funds awarded through Enterprise Ireland, to support regional enterprise projects. The Plan aims to support the creation of 28,000 jobs across Sligo, Leitrim, Donegal, Cavan, Monaghan and Louth by 2020. Sectors targeted as part of the plan include traditionally strong sectors for the region like agri-food, manufacturing/engineering and tourism.

I will continue to visit the regions and meet with stakeholders to ensure that plans are being implemented in every region, including the Border region.