COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
Monday, January 11, 2021
QUESTION NO. 14
QUESTION: Councillor C. O'Connor
To ask the Chief Executive to report on his efforts to assist businesses, across the County, challenged by Brexit?
REPLY:
On 24 December, the EU and UK negotiating teams reached agreement in principle on a Trade and Cooperation Agreement, which came into effect from 01 January 2021. The Agreement provides for tariff-free, quota-free trade and for sectoral cooperation in a number of important areas. The European Commission has provided more information on the Agreement on its website . Given the late stage at which the negotiations were finalised, the European Commission has recommended that the Agreement is provisionally applied for a period from 1 January while the EU and UK procedures to conclude the agreement are completed.
It is important to note that even with the Trade and Cooperation Agreement in place, there will be significant and lasting change at the end of the Brexit transition period on 31 December as the UK will be outside the EU Single Market and Customs Union. This will mean new procedures apply for businesses moving goods to, from or through the UK, excluding Northern Ireland. The Protocol on Ireland / Northern Ireland, which forms part of the Withdrawal Agreement agreed earlier with the UK, means that no new procedures will apply to goods moving between Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Source Gov.ie For further details please check https://www.gov.ie/Brexit
It is widely recognised that there is still a significant number of SMEs across the couuntry and in South Dublin who have yet to fully prepare themselves for these post Brexit changes and are facing uncertainty as to what this agreement will mean for them and to that end Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment has arranged for the LEO network throughout the country to launch a new campaign called
‘Change is here – Act Now’ to highlight that there are special arrangements that they can avail of
South Dublin Local Enterprises Offices has been activing promoting promoting the following special arrangements under this campaign:-
- Provision of a Brexit Helpline during the holidays Brexit-Helpline
- Availability of additional Brexit Customs Workshops from early January
Free Workshops set up for 7th January and 14th January in South Dublin with the capacity to add in additional workshops if demands are there
- Availability of free Brexit one to one Brexit Mentoring link Brexit Mentoring
Links to all Brexit supports are available on South Dublin Local Enterprise Office website https://www.localenterprise.ie/SouthDublin/Enterprise-Development/Brexit-Supports/
These additional supports come on top of what has been an extensive promotional campaign on the full range of Brexit related supports available to all businesses nationally regionally and locally from all of the agencies and departments. A summary of all of the supports available from all agencies and departments can be found at the following website links; https://www.dfa.ie/brexit/getting-ireland-brexit-ready/brexit-and-business/financial-supports-for-business/ and also on https://www.gov.ie/en/campaigns/b2c18-getting-ireland-brexit-ready/