COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
Monday, July 09, 2018
MOTION NO.3
MOTION: Councillor C. O'Connor
That this South Dublin County Council calls on the Chief Executive to confirm actions he proposes to deal with the threats and challenges presented by Brexit; will he outline contacts he has had in respect of the matter, will he update members and will he make a detailed statement.
REPORT:
As the “first-stop-shop” for micro and small businesses in the County, Local Enterprise Office South Dublin is well placed to help businesses with the uncertainty and possible impacts of Brexit. Now that the Brexit negotiations are well underway, Local Enterprise Office is encouraging companies to be pro-active in their preparations.
In the first instance, businesses are encouraged to use the Brexit SME Scorecard (available at https://prepareforbrexit.virtual-adviser.com/) as a first step towards preparing for Brexit and developing a robust Brexit plan. This free online planning tool for Irish businesses with potential Brexit exposure has been designed to stimulate companies into thinking about the key areas that may be impacted in their business because of Brexit and to self-assess their level of preparedness. The scorecard is a starting point to help businesses to begin preparing a strategy and ready their teams in terms of planning and shining a spotlight on some of the key operational areas that may be exposed. The report generated through engagement with the scorecard provides companies with a benchmark in terms of their level of preparedness against best practice and signposts them to a range of relevant LEO supports, resources and information including:
Lean for Micro is designed to encourage LEO clients to adopt Lean business principles in their businesses to increase performance and competitiveness. Applying LEAN principles to business will help to build resilience to be better positioned to cope with the challenges and opportunities of Brexit.
Designed to support LEO clients identify key areas of exposure because of Brexit and assist Owner / Managers in developing robust strategies to address issues and maximise potential opportunities.
The TAME grant supports LEO clients to explore and develop new export market opportunities, providing matched funding towards costs incurred when investigating, researching and accessing export markets.
The Enterprise Europe Network helps businesses innovate and grow on an international scale. It is the world’s largest support network for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with international ambitions. It assists Irish companies to make the most of business and technology opportunities in the EU and other major global markets
The above supports are in addition to the various other LEO Supports available to clients including financial assistance, management development programmes, training and capacity building courses, business mentoring and advice, Trading Online Vouchers etc. which will variously help local businesses in South Dublin to be better placed, more resilient and capable in dealing with the emerging Brexit issues.
In conjunction with the range of supports outlined above, LEO South Dublin has also worked with a range of strategic partners to raise awareness of the need for businesses to start planning for Brexit and the possible effects it may have on their business. These events include:
- A “Brit-entrance - Opportunities to do Business in Britain” event in June 2017 at the Red Cow Moran Hotel in partnership with South Dublin Chamber, DLR Chamber & AIB which was attended by over 50 local businesses;
- “All Facts, No Noise: Practical Help to Navigate Brexit” held in Croke Park in December 2017 in partnership with Inter Trade Ireland the Dublin LEOs which was attended by over 500 guests from the region;
- A “Brexit Advisor Clinic: Your Fast Track to Action” a series of events for June 2018 in partnership with Enterprise Ireland and the Dublin LEOs.
It is acknowledged that there is still a great deal of uncertainty at this point about what the final Brexit position will be and what it will mean to Irish businesses. LEO South Dublin are represented on a national LEO Brexit Committee that will continue to explore what further supports are required in conjunction with other state agencies as Brexit develops. As the detail of Brexit fully emerges over the coming months LEO will also look to deliver specific workshops for local businesses on the range of issues arising including: currency issues, logistics/transport, customs/tariffs, regulation, sourcing and market diversification.
Further details will be available on www.localenterprise.ie/SouthDublin.