Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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640. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation her views on the way in which export growth to the UK slowed from 12% in 2015 to 2% in 2016 following the Brexit referendum based on the latest Enterprise Ireland figures; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24562/17]

Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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Enterprise Ireland's Annual Business Results (ABR) were launched by the Taoiseach, myself and Julie Sinnamon, CEO, Enterprise Ireland on the 15th May this year.

Enterprise Ireland client exports grew by 6% in 2016 reaching a record high of €21.6bn. Export growth to the UK, however, which accounts for €7.5bn of exports, slowed from 12% in 2015 to 2% in 2016. The slowdown in growth occurred against the backdrop of a 13% devaluation of Sterling over the course of 2016 which impacted on Irish exporters’ ability to compete in the UK market. From a sectorial perspective, the Food sector reported the largest decline, with the value of Food exports to the UK falling by 2.8% while non-food sectors saw exports increase by 6.4%.

A key role of Enterprise Ireland is to help companies to win new business in international markets.  Enterprise Ireland’s 2016 results show strong growth in North America in particular, where exports grew by 19% to €3.74bn and Asia Pacific where exports increased by 16% reaching €1.82bn. However, the fact remains that the UK is, and will continue to be, the largest single market for Enterprise Ireland client companies.

It is imperative that companies respond now to the challenges Brexit will bring.  This will include maximising opportunities to not only sustain and grow their exports to the UK but also to continue to diversify their export base. To maintain market share and grow exports, Enterprise Ireland’s Market Advisers in the UK are actively providing clients with market knowledge on a sectorial basis, making introductions to buyers, suppliers and partners in-market and providing market intelligence such as competitor analysis, identification of professional services etc.

In January 2017, Enterprise Ireland published its strategy for the period 2017-2020. The strategy was developed in the context of Brexit and focuses on supporting clients to both Build Scale and Expand Reach.

To coincide with the announcement of its ABR in May, Enterprise Ireland launched a new Eurozone Strategy to assist Irish exporters increase exports in Eurozone countries by 50% by 2020. This strategy will be accompanied by a new ‘Irish Advantage’ campaign which will target Eurozone buyers to promote Irish innovation in key Brexit impacted sectors.

In order to encourage companies to start preparing and planning for Brexit now, Enterprise Ireland is rolling out a “Prepare For Brexit” communications campaign.  To this end, on March 31 Enterprise Ireland launched its ‘Brexit SME Scorecard’, a new interactive online platform which can be used by all Irish companies to self-assess their exposure to Brexit under six business pillars - Business Strategy, Operations, Innovation, Sales and Marketing, Finance and People Management. The tool is a starting point for SME management teams looking to develop an action plan to help mitigate risks and leverage opportunities which may arise from Brexit. 

Enterprise Ireland will also provide funding up to the value of €5,000 to exporting clients to support the development of a Brexit Action Plan. Enterprise Ireland will then work with these companies on a one-to-one basis to support the implementation of the plan.  The roll-out and marketing of this initiative is being complemented by a schedule of regional events.

This has been accompanied by a nationwide series of ‘Prepare for Brexit’ workshops which commenced in Cork on 3 May and will also be held in Waterford (May 23) and Monaghan (May 25) and are scheduled for Galway (May 30) and Limerick (June 8).