Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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54. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation her views on the latest InterTradeIreland report which shows that 19 out of 20 businesses do not have a plan to deal with Brexit. [48620/17]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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Brexit will clearly present a number of different challenges for Irish businesses.  An added complexity is that the uncertainty surrounding the precise nature of the UK's future relationship with the EU makes planning and preparing for Brexit all the more difficult for companies here. This is partly why many businesses do not yet have detailed Brexit contingency plans in place.

My Department and its enterprise agencies are focused, however, on assisting companies to prepare for the UK's withdrawal from the EU. This includes efforts to build awareness of particular and sector-specific challenges that Brexit is likely to pose. Much of our broader work so far to help mitigate the impact of Brexit on Irish firms is captured in my Department's recently published response paper to the UK's impending exit from the EU, entitled "Building Stronger Business - Responding to Brexit by Competing, Innovating and Trading". This paper summarises the policy measures already taken, outlines future initiatives we intend to take forward and details the steps the Department has taken already to ensure that we can work as efficiently as possible to support our companies.

Our State Agencies have also been very active themselves in taking forward projects aimed at helping businesses in Ireland prepare for the post-Brexit commercial environment. InterTrade Ireland, for example, has introduced a scheme to help SMEs avail of expert advice on Brexit. It has also been working hard to raise awareness of the particular challenges Brexit may present for cross-border trade.

Enterprise Ireland, meanwhile, has launched a "Brexit SME Scorecard" - effectively a new interactive platform which can be used by Irish companies to self-assess their exposure to Brexit. The Agency has also introduced a "Be Prepared Grant" that helps SME clients meet the costs of implementing a plan to mitigate risks arising from Brexit. Furthermore, the Local Enterprise Office Network are hosting information events around the country aimed at helping companies plan for Brexit.

While progress has been made in helping many different businesses prepare, we know much more work remains to be done. That is why we will remain absolutely focused on our Brexit-related initiatives and will continue to explore new avenues and means of helping our companies plan for the future.