Lisa Chambers (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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319. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the budget allocated to the Be Prepared grant for Brexit; the number of client companies that have applied for and been awarded same, respectively; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17450/18]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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My Department, through its agency Enterprise Ireland, supports companies in urban and rural areas to start, innovate and remain competitive in international markets, now and into the future. On an annual basis Enterprise Ireland works with approximately 5,000 companies through a network of market and sector advisers based across 10 national offices and 33 international offices. These manufacturing and internationally traded services companies are a critical source of existing employment and job creation in every county in Ireland.

Brexit presents the most significant economic challenge of the past 50 years, and long-term structural and disruptive change will emerge. Being prepared is crucial to ensure resilience to emerging challenges. To promote awareness, and supported by a national Prepare For Brexit campaign, Enterprise Ireland designed and launched a €5k Be Prepared Grant that supports the costs of SME clients in preparing a plan to mitigate risks and optimise opportunities arising from Brexit. This grant is demand led, and I am confident that Enterprise Ireland has the budgetary resources to meet the needs of all eligible companies who apply for the Grant. To date, 100 companies have been approved for support under this initiative.

Enterprise Ireland will continue to promote the Be Prepared Grant to all counties and regions to ensure that the maximum number of clients are engaged in preparing for the impact of Brexit.

Lisa Chambers (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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320. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the budget allocated to the Enterprise Ireland market discovery fund; the number of companies that have applied for and been awarded same since it became available; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17451/18]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Enterprise Ireland is actively working with companies with global ambition to internationalise, and in doing so, diversify their global footprint. This is critical for long term business growth, particularly in light of Brexit.

In 2017 Enterprise Ireland:

- Supported clients in winning 1,391 new overseas contracts;

- Supported clients establish 350 new overseas presences;

- Supported 56 first time exporters outside the UK;

- Ran 878 international buyer visits; and

- Implemented an extensive schedule of trade mission and event focused on global and sectoral opportunities and stimulating demand for Irish products and services. This activity included 57 Ministerial-led Trade Missions to locations such as Canada, Singapore, China, the UAE and Oman.

In January 2018, Enterprise Ireland launched a new Market Discovery Fund to incentivise companies to research viable and sustainable market entry strategies in new geographic markets. This fund provides support towards internal and external costs incurred when researching new markets for products and services. The Market Discovery Fund applies when eligible companies are either looking at a new geographic market for an existing product/service or an existing geographic market for a new product/service.

The Market Discovery Fund is available across three levels:

- Level 1: Grant up to €35K

- Level 2: Grant greater than €35K but less than €75K

- Level 3: Grant greater than €75K but less than €150K

The Market Discovery Fund has been opened for applications for a number of weeks and currently there is a strong pipeline of applications being processed by Enterprise Ireland. Initial reports from Enterprise Ireland indicate a strong interest from companies in this fund. It is envisaged that the first rounds of funding will be approved in the coming weeks.