Minutes:
Emer O’Byrne, Senior Executive, BREXIT Unit, Enterprise Ireland presented to the Committee on Brexit from Enterprise Ireland perspective, noting that EI were working very closely with LEO networks and that there was over €1 billion worth of trade every week between Ireland and the UK and that the UK was still a very important destination for many Irish exporters and will continue to be. Business are struggling both with the uncertainty of Brexit and the added obvious pressures that Covid 19 has brought. Message that EI is getting out there is that the UK has left the European Union and that will be leaving the single market and customs market on 01/01/21. The main topics covered under the presentation were
· 9 areas of Brexit Exposure for companies & supports that would be needed to address some of the exposures.
· Brexit Communications Strategy – 2016 to present.
· The Brexit Readiness Checker.
· The Ready for Customs Grant.
Comments, Feedback & Questions:
The Chair thanked the presenter and opened the floor for discussion.
Question: Cllr. Freehill asked what Enterprise Ireland considered to be the role of the City Council in the context of EI’s presentation. Response: Emer O’Byrne replied that it would be useful for any EI media campaigns/webinars on Brexit Readiness Checker to be promoted on DCC’s social media/communication channels.
Question: Cllr. MacDonncha commented on the positive development of direct freight ferry from Ireland to the continent and asked if there were implications for Dublin Port / the Dublin Economy in relation to this. His view was that it was positive and businesses should be encouraged to use that instead of the UK route.
Response: Emer O’Byrne replied that for many years the land bridge has been used by Irish companies moving goods to Europe through the UK and that the UK has been used as a means to get to Europe. She stated it was cheaper and took less time to travel through the UK with trucks then it was to go directly to Ports in France for example. EI are however encouraging companies to explore alternative options with direct routes in order to avoid both cost and disruption come 1st January 2021.
Question: Cllr. Cooney asked where the Brexit Readiness Checker was hosted. She also updated the Group regarding the land bridge question. Both she and Cllr. Byrne are on the Irish Lights Committee and Cllr. Cooney raised the question of land bridge with the Minister for Transport. The Department of Transport indicated to her that there is sufficient capacity on existing continental services to accommodate displaced land bridge traffic and there are more direct routes in place. She stated that 90% of Irish trade is freight.
Response: Emer O’Byrne informed Cllr. Cooney that both the Brexit Readiness Checker and Ready for Customs Grant are hosted on www.prepareforbrexit.com website and that this simple website hosts all information and available supports and insight pieces for companies on getting ready for Brexit.
Question: Cllr. Batten stated that the percentage of Brexit ready companies provided by EI is the same figure approximately as given last year by EI at a presentation. She asked if there was a reason why the percentage figure had not increased in the last 12 months and if particular industries appeared to be less prepared than others.
Response: Emer O’Byrne replied that surveys carried out by EI would suggest that we are seeing movement and indications that companies are becoming more Brexit ready but it would appear that the larger companies are taking actions but smaller companies are not as much. These smaller companies have already faced huge challenges in relation to Covid 19 and are Brexit fatigued and EI are encouraging these companies to take action now.
Feedback: Greg Swift complemented and thanked Emer O’Byrne on her presentation and reassured the committee that LEO are working very closely with EI in relation to Brexit and that LEO is promoting the checker and grant scheme and other EI initiatives on the DCC website. LEO have also commenced customs training mentoring.