Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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90. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the level of take-up for the various supports in place to safeguard small and medium-sized enterprises from a hard Brexit scenario; if she is satisfied with the level of awareness and suitability of the various schemes; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30628/18]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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My Department and its agencies are working hard to ensure that potentially impacted firms are taking the necessary steps to prepare and mitigate risks and to take advantage of potential opportunities.  

Enterprise Ireland provides a range of financial and non-financial supports to companies to support this, including the recently launched Market Discovery Fund and the Agile Innovation Fund. Other supports include:

- The Brexit SME Scorecard, an interactive online platform which can be used by all Irish companies to self-assess their exposure to Brexit under six business pillars. There have been 2328 engagements on the scorecard to date.

- The Act On Programme which provides an independent consultant to companies for a course of two half day to assist them decide on specific actions over a short period to address some of the risks and opportunities from Brexit. To date, 41 Brexit Plans have been completed.

- The €5k Be Prepared Grant that supports the costs of SME clients in preparing a plan to mitigate risks and optimise opportunities arising from Brexit. To date 113 companies have been approved for funding under this initiative. Strong pipelines in place for both initiatives.

- National Brexit Roadshows to increase the awareness of Brexit amongst companies. Six Brexit Action Plan clinics have been completed across all parts of the country. The most recent clinic, June 21st, in Dublin (over 130 companies participated) was the most comprehensive Brexit workshop for companies to date. Four additional clinics are planned across Ireland by year end, incl Galway, Dundalk and Limerick. From the clinics to date, 95% of the attendee surveys have stated an intention to undertake new Brexit actions as a result of the clinics.

Innovation is essential for companies to be competitive internationally and to win market share. Enterprise Ireland is working with its clients to drive innovation activity via a number of supports.

To support these activities, in 2017 Enterprise Ireland:

- Approved 99 R&D projects to clients over €100,000;

- Approved funding for 436 industry innovation projects at Technology Gateways throughout the country; and

- Provided financial support for 1,065 collaborative innovations between industry and higher education institutes across the country.

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. In 2017 Enterprise Ireland:

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

- Supported clients to 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 sectorial 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.

The Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) are the ‘first-stop-shop’ for providing advice and guidance, financial assistance and ‘soft’ supports in the form of training and mentoring to anyone wishing to start or grow a business.

The suite of LEO Brexit supports available to micro and small businesses through the 31 LEOs nationwide include:

- Access to Enterprise Ireland’s ‘Brexit SME Scorecard’ online tool where micro and smaller businesses can self-diagnose their readiness for Brexit;

- Tailored mentoring to address Brexit related business challenges. The number of persons that have availed of Brexit related mentoring from 1st June 2017 to 31st March 2018 is 708;

- A ‘Technical Assistance for Micro-enterprises’ (TAME) grant designed to support qualifying businesses to diversify into new markets, enabling companies to explore and develop new market opportunities. 289 projects were approved for the TAME grant in 2017;

- Rollout of ‘Lean for Micro’ nationwide which will make small businesses more efficient and competitive;

- Training including on specific Brexit challenges, e.g. financial aspects and capability building in innovation, competitiveness and opportunity diagnosis. The total number of training participants in 2017 was 30,373.

A major initiative which my Department recently introduced for all Brexit impacted firms in the €300 million Brexit Working Capital Loan Scheme, under which accessible finance is made available to businesses at favourable terms. There has been a steady stream of applications under the scheme.

InterTrade Ireland (ITI) has a key role to play in protecting North-South trade in the context of Brexit, as the body is uniquely positioned when it comes to understanding the needs of businesses on both sides of the border, and helping businesses to prepare for the challenges that lie ahead. A key part of ITI’s Brexit work is the provision for SMEs of a Brexit ‘Start to Plan’ readiness voucher scheme, which enables companies to purchase specialist advice in areas such as customs, tax, tariff and non-tariff barriers, legal and labour mobility issues.  These are worth €2,000 to each of the companies. A total of 149 vouchers have been approved to date.

Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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91. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the contingencies and supports in place to safeguard Irish SMEs and export businesses from a hard Brexit scenario; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30635/18]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Brexit presents the most significant economic challenge of the past 50 years for businesses in all parts of the country. My Department and its agencies are working hard to ensure that all potentially impacted firms are taking the necessary steps to mitigate the risks and take advantage of potential opportunities resulting from Brexit.

My Department is engaged in helping SMEs prepare to withstand all Brexit scenarios, including a hard Brexit scenario.  Encouraging companies to take action to identify their individual areas of exposure and to take positive steps to address them will build strong resilient businesses that can prosper in the face of difficult economic circumstances.

A major initiative that my Department is advancing is the €300 million Brexit Loan Scheme, under which accessible finance is made available to businesses at favourable terms. There has been a steady stream of applications under this scheme.

Work on the development of a Business Finance Advisory Hub continues, to strengthen financial management and strategic planning of Irish SMEs.  It will assist businesses to make more informed financial decisions, building on existing supports available from bodies such as Enterprise Ireland (EI) and Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs). 

I am confident that the agencies under my remit have the supports available to enable companies to both consolidate market share within the UK, and become more resilient by broadening their exports to other international markets.

EI has an extensive range of supports to encourage clients to become more competitive, innovative and to diversify export markets, including:

- Brexit Scorecard: This interactive online platform can be used by all Irish companies to self-assess their exposure to Brexit under six business pillars. The Scorecard generates an immediate report which contains suggested actions and resources, and information on events for companies to attend, to prepare for Brexit.

- Be Prepared Grant: This grant offers SME clients a grant of up to €5,000 to assist them in preparing an action plan for economic shocks such as Brexit. The grant can be used to help cover consultancy, travel and travel expenses associated with researching the direction of their action plan.

- Brexit Advisory Clinics: Enterprise Ireland held five Brexit Advisory Clinics over the past few months in Portlaoise, Mayo, Cavan, Cork and last month in Dublin’s Aviva Stadium. The purpose of these Clinics is to support companies affected by Brexit to take immediate action to address their exposure. More Clinics are due to take place throughout the year.

- Brexit 'Act On' Programme: This funding is to support the engagement of a consultant to draw up a report with tailored recommendations to help clients address weaknesses and become more resilient.

- Strategic Consultancy Grant: This grant helps client companies to hire a strategic consultant for a set period to assist the company to develop and implement significant strategic initiatives.

In addition, EI is implementing extensive trade mission and event schedules focussed on further developing in-market expertise and networks, new sectorial opportunities and stimulating demand for Irish products and services through international marketing campaigns. In 2017, EI launched a new Eurozone Strategy to increase exports to Eurozone countries by 50% by 2020.

The suite of LEO Brexit supports available to micro and small businesses through the 31 LEOs nationwide include:

- A ‘Technical Assistance for Micro-enterprises’ grant designed to support qualifying businesses to diversify into new markets, enabling companies to explore and develop new market opportunities;

- Rollout of ‘Lean for Micro’ nationwide which will make small businesses more efficient and competitive;

- Tailored mentoring to address Brexit related business challenges;

- Targeted training on specific Brexit challenges, including financial aspects and capability building in innovation, competitiveness and opportunity diagnosis; and

- Continued information, advice and guidance across all 31 LEOs and regionally.

 The additional Brexit supports on offer through the LEOs are focused on capability building, market diversification, driving increased competitiveness, and promoting innovation so that LEO client companies can better cope with the challenges arising on foot of Brexit and to explore any opportunities presented.

InterTrade Ireland (ITI), has also been very active in assisting businesses address the challenges that Brexit may present for future cross-border commerce. A series of information and awareness raising events have been underway in towns across both North and South over recent months. ITI is also rolling out a ‘Start to Plan’ readiness voucher scheme, which enables companies to purchase specialist advice in areas such as customs, tax, tariff and non-tariff barriers, legal and labour mobility issues.

I also launched the second call of the Regional Enterprise Development Fund, which is aimed at supporting the development and implementation of collaborative and innovative projects that can sustain and add to employment at a national, regional and county level.

I am satisfied that across a range of supports and initiatives, work of my Department is focused on supporting businesses throughout the country to withstand current challenges and succeed into the future. I feel, therefore, that all our efforts will put Ireland in a strong position in the event of a hard Brexit scenario.