Chamber calls for a ‘Brexit’ fund
KARL Fitzpatrick, President of Wexford Chamber, is calling on the Government to establish an Enterprise Stabilisation Fund to support exporting businesses in the wake of the Brexit vote.
Many Irish exporters are experiencing significant challenges since the outcome of the landmark referendum was revealed, and as it is anticipated that Brexit will continue to cause volatility within the export market, it has the potential to cause substantial job losses for Irish exporters.
In recognition of the need to introduce measures that will alleviate the mounting pressure on our valuable export sector, Wexford Chamber is calling on the Government to establish an Enterprise Stabilisation Fund in the form of an Employment Subsidy Scheme. The objective of this intervention is to provide targeted support to viable but vulnerable exporting companies, with a view to assisting them to operate effectively within the extremely difficult business environment which has been created following the result of the Brexit vote.
Speaking about the detail of the proposed fund, Mr. Fitzpatrick said: ‘ the Fund should have a total budget of €150 million which would be allocated over three consecutive years, with €50 million being provided in 2017 and a further €50 million to follow in both 2018 and 2019. As the underlying premise of the Enterprise Stabilisation Fund is to protect jobs within the export sector, we would envisage that the fund would be established through the Department of Jobs, Enterprise & Innovation and administered by Enterprise Ireland. Approvals should be based on business plans submitted to Enterprise Ireland by applicant companies.’
When asked about the level of support that individual companies should be able to access under the ESF, Mr. Fitzpatrick said that ‘over 24 months, the Employment Subsidy Scheme should provide a maximum subsidy of €150 per week, for one full-time person, for every ten employed by the eligible company.’
Wexford Chamber outlined that assistance should be made available to companies that meet the following criteria: they should be in a position where they will have to consider redundancies within 12 months, employ at least 10 people and must have already taken significant restructuring measures to improve their competitive position; they must not have been in difficulty on/before June 23, 2016, but are now facing difficulties as a direct result of the Brexit vote and they must be judged by Enterprise Ireland to have sound, robust and sustainable business models and business plans that are financially viable in the medium term
Mr Fitzpatrick met MEPs in Brussels during his participation in The European Parliament of Enterprises, to discuss this initiative and it received cross party support. Mr Fitzpatrick is now calling on Government to introduce this emergency measure immediately.