Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

235. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the steps she is taking for exporters to capture some of the current UK agrifood exports to the EU that could be affected in the event of a hard Brexit. [26339/17]

Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

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. In addition, in May 2017 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.

Eurozone markets can provide currency stability, proximity and potential for growth and opportunities for Irish companies. Enterprise Ireland’s Eurozone Strategy will see the agency partnering with some 600 client companies, approximately half of which are ‘Eurozone Start’ (relatively new to the market and who are heavily reliant on the UK) while the remainder are ‘Eurozone Scale’ (already exporting to the Eurozone).

In addition to the market diversification drive characterised by the new Eurozone Strategy, Enterprise Ireland’s focus continues to be on supporting companies on a one to one and on a sector by sector basis to enhance their competitiveness and capability and build on their success in existing and new markets. To this end, on 31 March 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.  Based on answers supplied by the user, the Scorecard generates an immediate report which contains suggested actions and resources, and information on events for companies to attend, to prepare for Brexit.

Enterprise Ireland has also launched a “Be Prepared Grant” that supports the costs of SME clients in preparing a plan to mitigate risks and optimise opportunities arising from Brexit. It can be used to help cover consultancy, travel and out of pocket expenses associated with researching the direction of their Brexit action plan.

To communicate Enterprise Ireland’s Eurozone Strategy and the supports available as part of the implementation of the agency’s strategy, a “Prepare for Brexit” Breakfast Roadshow is being rolled out nationally to engage with companies. A number of invited Food speakers, panellists and clients have already participated in these roadshow events.

Bord Bia is the state agency under the Department of Agriculture and Food responsible for the marketing and promotion of agrifood and drink.  I am advised that Bord Bia's programmes and activities in this area are all directly relevant to expanding market penetration and diversifying outlets for Irish food and drink against the background of the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union.

On 22 March, Bord Bia launched a Brexit Barometer to assist food, drink and horticulture companies to identify the levels of risk across six topics - route to market, trade, customs, currency, supply chain and people.  In all, 135 companies completed a Brexit Barometer assessment.  Each participating company received an assessment that identified levels of risk across the six topics and a supporting document with actions for mitigating some of these risks.  The data collected is being analysed and the high level findings will be presented at a Bord Bia Brexit event on 29 June 2017.