Foresight

Brexit Business Supports

4 January 2021

The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment provides a range of supports to help businesses of all sizes navigate Brexit.

Financial supports, guidance and training:

Brexit Readiness Checklist

The Department has prepared a Brexit Readiness Checklist which lists the steps businesses can take to be ready for Brexit changes from 1 January 2021.

Supports from our enterprise agencies and regulatory bodies

Our agencies and regulatory bodies provide a range of tailored supports for enterprise of all sizes in Ireland.

Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs)

The 31 LEOs nationwide provide expert advice, information and practical supports on Brexit to help small businesses. Their supports include:

Brexit Mentor Programme

Under the LEOs Brexit Mentor Programme, clients work with an experienced mentor on a one-to-one basis to identify key areas of exposure within their business. With advice and guidance from their mentor, clients develop strategies that are more robust, which address issues and maximise potential opportunities around Brexit.

Technical Assistance for Micro-Exporters (TAME)

The LEOs TAME grant supports clients to explore and develop new export market opportunities, such as participation in international trade fairs and development of export-related marketing materials and websites. With a focus on helping companies to diversify, this scheme is a matched-funding opportunity with up to €2,500 available.

Trading Online Voucher Scheme

The LEOs administer the Trading Online Voucher Scheme, which helps small businesses to trade more online, to increase sales and to reach new markets. This scheme provides match-funding of up to €2,500, with training and further supports provided by the LEOs.

LEO grants

For existing companies and potential start-ups that meet eligibility criteria (such as employing 10 or fewer people with the potential for growth and job creation), the LEOs can offer Priming, Business Expansion, and Feasibility Study grants to help manage Brexit responses.

Customs Workshops

The Local Enterprise Offices one day interactive customs workshops provide businesses with a better understanding of the potential impacts, formalities and procedures to be adopted when trading with a country outside the Single Market and Customs Union. This includes areas such as what export and import procedures apply, how tariffs work and how to correctly classify goods.

For more expert advice and information on the range of Brexit supports for your small business, visit localenterprise.ie/Brexit.

Enterprise Ireland

Enterprise Ireland has a range of Brexit supports to enable Irish businesses to respond to the new trading environment:

Capital Investment Scheme for the Processing and Marketing of Agricultural Products

The new Capital Investment Scheme for the Processing and Marketing of Agricultural Products will open for applications in January.

Brexit Readiness Checker

The Enterprise Ireland Brexit Readiness Checker provides businesses with a quick and accessible way to check their readiness across areas such as customs and finance and gives guidance on what steps to take now, based on their own unique circumstances.

Ready for Customs Grant

The Enterprise Ireland Ready for Customs grant provides up to €9,000 per eligible employee hired or redeployed within a business to a dedicated customs role. The grant, available through Enterprise Ireland, will help businesses increase their capacity to manage the customs process after 1 January 2021.

Be Prepared Grant

For businesses that need external support in planning for Brexit, Enterprise Ireland offers up to €5,000 to assist client companies develop a plan through its Be Prepared Grant.

Funding opportunities

Enterprise Ireland supports businesses who wish to innovate, change or adapt in a number of areas, for example, to research viable and sustainable new market entry strategies through its EI Market Discovery Fund. Other funding opportunities from Enterprise Ireland include the Agile Innovation Fund and the Operational Excellence Offer.

Brexit Advisory Clinics and Webinars

Enterprise Ireland ran a series of Brexit Advisory Clinics across the country offering information and practical support to companies. While, under the current circumstances, events like this have become more difficult to hold, key elements of the clinics have been made available online. Enterprise Ireland also ran a series of Brexit Webinars with information and key tips that will help your business mitigate some of the risks of Brexit.

Currency Risk Management

For Irish companies exporting to the UK, the Enterprise Ireland Currency Impact Calculator can help you understand the effect of movements in the sterling/euro exchange rate on your business. For more information on managing currency exposure, visit Enterprise Ireland's guidance and tools for managing currency exposure.

Customs Insights

Enterprise Ireland’s Customs Insights online course is available to all SMEs and aims to give learners a firm understanding of the key customs concepts, documentation and processes required to succeed post transition. The course advises on the key actions companies can take to prepare for customs after the transition period, and the resources available to support these actions.

Act On Initiative

Enterprise Ireland’s Act On Initiative helps Brexit exposed client companies to create a strong action plan and identify the opportunities and risks Brexit may pose to businesses. It focuses on three areas: financial and currency management, strategic sourcing, and customs and logistics.

Brexit Scorecard

The Brexit Scorecard is a free online tool which assesses your business readiness. It is a first step in developing a robust Brexit plan.

For more Brexit business advice and supports from Enterprise Ireland, visit prepareforbrexit.com.

InterTradeIreland

InterTradeIreland offer Brexit support and advice to cross-border traders through their Brexit Advisory Service:

Brexit Advisory Service

InterTradeIreland’s Brexit Advisory Service provides businesses with practical advice, support and information on cross-border trade including key information on commodity codes and trade in services.

Brexit Planning Voucher

InterTradeIreland provides a Brexit Planning Voucher worth €2,250 to enable SMEs to get professional advice on Brexit matters such as movement of labour, goods, services and currency management.

Brexit Service Providers

InterTradeIreland's panel of training/consultancy experts specialise in a range of areas such as customs, supply chain, logistics and currency risk, and are approved providers under the planning voucher.

Bite Size Supply Chain

InterTradeIreland has created free bitesize supply chain supports to help businesses identify where their key opportunities and risks are and what actions they can take to protect their supply chains.

IDA Ireland

IDA Ireland offers Brexit advice and support to client companies as they grow and diversify their Irish footprint. The IDA offers practical assistance, such as information and advice on Brexit risks and opportunities, and financial assistance across R&D, training, employment and capital investment.

Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC)

The CCPC has responsibility for enforcing competition and consumer protection law, as well as a specific remit in relation to the safety of non-food consumer products and provides related information and guidance on Brexit and your business.

Health and Safety Authority (HSA)

The HSA is a Competent Authority for a range of EU Regulations and Directives which govern the import, use and placing on the market of a range of goods from chemicals to machinery to pressure equipment and lifts. It provides advice to Irish companies and SMEs on meeting legislative duties and ensuring they can source and sell their goods in the EU.

The Irish National Accreditation Board (INAB), which is part of the HSA, can offer advice on accreditation matters and conformity assessment bodies required under specific EU laws.

National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI)

The NSAI provides advice on how best to ensure businesses are certified to appropriate standards to access markets. The NSAI Brexit resources include factsheets, FAQs and webinars on demand.

Access to finance

Brexit Loan Scheme

The Brexit Loan Scheme makes lending available to eligible businesses with up to 499 employees that are exposed to current or future impacts arising as a result of Brexit. Loans range from €25,000 to €1.5 million, for terms of up to three years, at a maximum interest rate of 4%. Loans up to €500,000 available unsecured.

Future Growth Loan Scheme

The Future Growth Loan Scheme has been expanded and now makes a total fund of up to €800 million available for terms of 7-10 years. The scheme is open to eligible Irish businesses, including those in the primary agriculture and seafood sectors, to support strategic, long-term investment, for future sustainability and growth. Loans range from €25,000 to €3 million and loans up to €500,000 available unsecured.

Microfinance Loans

The Microfinance Ireland Brexit Business Loan provides up to €25,000 to businesses whose turnover has fallen (or is likely to fall) by 15% or more, or where a business has a short-term cashflow need as a result of Brexit. Loans range from six months to three years.

Brexit supports from across government

Brexit and business

Visit gov.ie/brexit for government advice on Brexit including information on new trading rules, supply chain, transport and logistics, the UK landbridge, staffing, contracts and data protection. Sector-specific guidance is also available for the agri-food and fisheries, retail, healthcare, tourism and construction sectors.