Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

As it stands, the UK is scheduled to leave the European Union as of 11pm on Friday, 29 March 2019. While many Irish businesses already have plans in place to mitigate the impacts of Brexit, I am conscious that a proportion of businesses have delayed their Brexit planning due to the degree of uncertainty in the UK surrounding the Brexit negotiations and the withdrawal process. As we approach the withdrawal date, I am urging all businesses to prepare, make all necessary decisions, and complete all required administrative actions.

Extensive work has been ongoing in my Department and across Government to help businesses prepare for all Brexit eventualities. This includes research and development of supports to help ensure that businesses are prepared for potential difficulties arising as a result of the UK’s decision to leave the EU. It is important that businesses understand that there are supports and advice available to help them prepare for Brexit.

My Department and its agencies are fully engaged in preparing Irish businesses for Brexit and have participated in the Government of Ireland’s series of Getting Ireland Brexit Ready events in Cork, Galway, Monaghan, Dublin, Limerick and Donegal. As part of awareness-raising activities, EI continues to roll out regional Brexit Advisory clinics. To date, these clinics have been held in Letterkenny, Tralee, Portlaoise, Claremorris, Cootehill, Charleville, Dublin, Galway, Dundalk, Waterford and Limerick. Further events are planned in Galway, Cork, Letterkenny and Dublin ahead of the withdrawal date.

EI has also been running a PrepareforBrexit communications campaign, featuring the Brexit SME Scorecard and the PrepareforBrexit.ie website, which offers information on the likely impacts of Brexit on Irish businesses and how these impacts might be mitigated. The Brexit SME Scorecard is an interactive online platform that can be used by all Irish businesses to self-assess their exposure to Brexit. EI has also made available a Be Prepared Grant which offers up to €5,000 for exporting client companies to conduct further research and use external expertise to develop a Brexit Action Plan.

Funding to the Local Enterprise Offices has been increased by 22% and they, along with InterTradeIreland, are offering a range of Brexit focused supports to companies, including those engaged in cross-border trade with Northern Ireland. InterTradeIreland continues to offer its Brexit: Start to Plan voucher scheme, which makes available financial support of up to €2,250 towards professional advisory services to address Brexit-related challenges.

The LEOs offer Brexit supports to micro and small businesses through the 31 LEOs nationwide. These 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. This is accompanied by tailored mentoring to address Brexit-related business challenges, and targeted training on specific Brexit challenges.

After the withdrawal date, businesses that continue to buy goods from the UK will be classed as importers. This has the potential to cause further disruption to supply chains. Businesses are encouraged to contact Revenue to understand the changes that may affect them once the UK leaves the EU. Businesses are also urged to contact their suppliers and service providers to seek assurances about the continuity of the supply of their goods and services post Brexit.

Where standards and conformity assessment are areas of potential concern, businesses are encouraged to contact the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI), which provides support and guidance to Irish businesses and industry to mitigate Brexit effects on standards and certification. For businesses importing chemicals from the UK, the Health and Safety Authority's (HSA) Chemicals Helpdesk is available to help prepare for Brexit.

For further information, as well as a full list of the information and advisory supports available, businesses should consult my Department's Getting Business Brexit Ready page at dbei.gov.ie/BrexitReady.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Expert Group on Future Skills Needs (EGFSN) is an independent body tasked with advising the Government on the current and future skills needs of the Irish economy, as well as any other issues that impact on the national potential for enterprise and employment growth.

In June of last year the Group published its report “Addressing the Skills Needs Arising from the Potential Trade Implications of Brexit”, which was an important contribution to the evidence base on Brexit and the Government’s wider contingency planning.

Following the report’s publication my Department formally engaged with the responsible bodies identified in the report, including a number of Government Departments, agencies, and industry bodies, to action and formally progress its recommendations- the timelines for which, as per the advice offered by the EGFSN, were both short term and longer term in nature.

The recommendations of the EGFSN have been reflected in the work the Government has undertaken to ensure the enterprise base can respond to Brexit through enhancing its capacity to compete, innovate and trade. As far as my Department is concerned, this has been reflected in:

- The participation of the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation and its enterprise agencies in the Government’s national Brexit preparedness public information and awareness campaign, ‘Getting Ireland Brexit Ready’.

- My Department’s establishment of a dedicated “Getting Business Brexit Ready” web portal, which includes sections on advice and guidance, financial supports, and upskilling, and is linked to by my Department's Brexit social media campaign. This can be accessed at

- The launch of Enterprise Ireland’s national and regional communications campaign urging companies to prepare for Brexit through planning, innovating, competing and diversifying their trade, which complements its promotion of the Brexit Scorecard, Be Prepared Grant, Brexit Advisory Clinics, and Act On support programme.

- The awareness raising and outreach, as well as Brexit supports, offered by InterTradeIreland and the Local Enterprise Office network, including the Brexit Planning Online Guide, Start to Plan voucher, the Brexit mentor programme, as well as Brexit related conferences, workshops and targeted radio and social media adverting campaigns.

- The publication by my Department of the Currency Risk Management for Irish SMEs guide, and support for financial and currency management advice and training under Enterprise Ireland’s Act On programme, InterTradeIreland’s Start to Plan voucher, and Enterprise Ireland’s Management Development training provision.

- Enterprise Ireland’s continued promotion of the Graduate Stayback permission scheme to international students, its GradStart language support, and International Graduate programme.

- The engagement by my Department’s enterprise agencies with the National Skills architecture more generally, to ensure that those trade related skills needs identified in the report, and amongst client companies, are serviced by the education and training system.

The EGFSN report also recommended the introduction or expansion of customs awareness and higher level customs clearance training and advice for third country trading.

My Department’s enterprise agencies have liaised closely with the Revenue Commissioners in the roll out of its Trader Engagement programme.

Customs training and advice offered by the mainly private providers active in this field is also eligible for support under InterTradeIreland’s Brexit Start to Plan voucher. A list of these providers can be found on the Brexit section of the InterTradeIreland website:

In December Enterprise Ireland launched its Customs Insights online course, which is aimed at helping businesses understand key customs concepts, documentation and processes. The course, which is available to both Enterprise Ireland and non-Enterprise Ireland client companies, can be accessed through Enterprise Ireland’s Prepare for Brexit portal: www.prepareforbrexit.com/customs-insights-course/.

As announced in Budget 2019, the Local Enterprise Offices are also organising the rolling out a series of ‘Prepare Your Business for Customs’ workshops.

These customs workshops are fully funded by the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation through Enterprise Ireland and are open to businesses from all sectors and from all parts of the country.

‘Prepare Your Business for Customs’ initial workshops are being organised by Local Enterprise Offices over the next month- in Cavan on February 25^th, Cork on March 8^th, Dublin on March 13^thand Laois on March 21^st. Further dates and locations for workshops in every region will be announced shortly. It is envisaged that there will be a maximum participation level of 25 at each workshop.