Written answers

Wednesday, 6 March 2019

Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation

Brexit Preparations

Photo of Tommy BroughanTommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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155. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the steps she is taking to protect supply chains of manufacturers and distributors connecting with the UK and the rest of the EU 27 after 29 March 2019; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11199/19]

Photo of Heather HumphreysHeather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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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.

My Department and its agencies have been consistently advising businesses and their representative bodies that it is crucial that they check their supply chains for vulnerabilities to Brexit impacts, contact their UK suppliers, service providers, logistics companies, wholesalers or distributors, to seek assurances about the continuity of the goods and services they rely on to do business, and assess whether it makes business sense to find an alternative supplier in the EU. 

Extensive work has been ongoing in my Department and across Government to help businesses prepare for all Brexit eventualities and to raise awareness about supply chain implications as well as all of the other potential Brexit impacts. 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: Planning Voucher, which makes available financial support of up to €2,250 towards professional advisory services to address Brexit-related challenges. This week, I launched the Brexit: Implementation Voucher, which offers up to €5,625 to businesses to implement critical changes identified in their Brexit planning phase.

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 more detail on the supports available, businesses should consult my Department's Getting Business Brexit Ready page at dbei.gov.ie/BrexitReady.

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