Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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121. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the moneys expended in promoting and hosting all Getting Ireland Brexit Ready events to date including costs (details supplied) in tabular form; the budget allocated for the Getting Ireland Brexit Ready events with respect to promotional activities in 2018 and 2019; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52818/18]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Since my appointment as Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade in June 2017, I have overseen and co-ordinated a sustained intensification of Brexit preparedness. As part of these efforts, the Government has organised “Getting Ireland Brexit Ready” public information events around Ireland to inform and advise about Brexit preparedness, and the range of support measures and resources that the Government has put in place.

These events brought together over a dozen Agencies and their parent Departments – the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation, the Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine, and the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport - under one roof to inform and advise both citizens and businesses.

The Workshops also attracted significant domestic and international (in particular UK) media coverage which afforded an opportunity to highlight Ireland’s overall approach and specific concerns in relation to Brexit.

Six Getting Ireland Brexit Ready workshop events have so far taken place in Cork on 5 October, Galway on 12 October, Monaghan on 19 October, Dublin on 25 October, Limerick on 23 November, and Letterkenny on 30 November. Having participated at each event, I am pleased to confirm that the workshops attracted very strong participation with a total of approximately 2,500 attendees.

The Getting Ireland Brexit Ready campaign invited businesses throughout the country to either attend one of the six workshops, or to come online to the dfa.ie/brexit website, which has been visited over 26,000 times.

The positive impact of the roadshows is reflected in an increase in interactions with the Brexit supports offered by State agencies. For example, Enterprise Ireland has recorded a 92% increase in Brexit Scorecard completions from September to October, as well as a 62% increase in interactions on its website. Similarly, Fáilte Ireland noted a 24% increase in views to its Brexit webpages subsequent to the October events, as well as an uptrend averaging 83% in the number of interactions on its Get Brexit Ready diagnostic tool.

Other Brexit preparedness-related public information activities and events continue to be organised by State Agencies and Departments across Ireland and relevant details on these can be found at the new dedicated Brexit events page on the dfa.ie/brexit website.

In organising each workshop, every effort has been made to ensure that costs are kept to the necessary minimum, and that they reflect the best value for money. Costs that have arisen directly so far in connection with the workshop events and advertising costs for the "Getting Ireland Brexit Ready" campaign for which invoices/confirmed costings have been received are as follows: