Irish exporters are planning for effect of Brexit

Exporting companies in Ireland are getting increasingly concerned of the fact that Brexit is now a reality and that they need to put in place a strategy to mitigate the fallout, according to Julie Sinnamon, head of the agency, Enterprise Ireland (EI). A major portion of the country’s trade is done with the UK and in view of this, EI is offering a grant to exporting firms of up to 5,000 euros to encourage them to develop a Brexit strategy.

Sinnamon said, “When Theresa May pressed the button on Article 50, I think there is a new reality in terms of Irish companies going from, ‘with a bit of luck this won’t happen’, to realising ‘it’s going to happen and we have to plan for it’”. Exporters have been the early casualties of the Brexit vote, due to sterling’s immediate and dramatic, devaluation in the wake of the referendum last June.

Although the pound has recovered some ground since it crossed the 90 pence to the euro mark in late 2016 — dealing a considerable blow to the mushroom sector in particular — it is still hovering around in the 80s.

That compares with 77 pence a year ago — and analysts believe the UK currency could weaken further again.

The grant support is being made available by EI to its 5,000 client companies, and is designed to help firms cover consultancy, travel and other outof-pocket expenses associated with drawing up a Brexit action plan.

EI will match 50 per cent of the costs incurred by a company in drawing up a strategy, up to a maximum of 5,000 euros.“Six weeks ago, when we were talking to companies, they were still in denial, in terms of hoping that they wouldn’t have to address the issue,” Sinnamon said.

She added, “Today that is gone and companies are now moving forward.

Companies are embracing the fact that Brexit is going to happen and that they have to plan for it.

There is so much discussion as to what that worst-case scenario is, and the bottom line is, none of us really know where the negotiations will line up.

But companies have to secure their future and therefore they have to put in place a plan that means they’ll survive irrespective of where Brexit ends up.”

Exporters in the food, drink and traditional sectors, including engineering, manufacturing and construction, are regarded by EI as the industries with the highest level of exposure to the UK market.

Currency remains the number one short-term concern, Sinnamon said, but added companies need to put in place a medium-term plan. “Companies need to look at their exposure and have a hedged position.

In some cases, companies source their raw materials from the UK and different countries, and in other cases they need to look at their currency exposure and hedge appropriately, particularly for some of the lower margins sectors.

You can’t keep your fingers crossed and hope that currency will go in the right direction,” said Sinnamon.

The purpose of the grant is to encourage exporting companies to investigate the feasibility of diversifying into new markets, to improve their competitiveness, or enhance the financial capability. A number of companies have applied already, but figures are only provided once applications are approved. Companies are being encouraged first go through EI’s online Brexit to Scorecard, which prompts them to selfassess their potential exposure to Brexit under six business pillars.

It then generates a 12-page report giving what is described as a trafficlight system bench-mark against best practice, suggested next steps based on the score and lists a range of events and resources from EI and others.

EI said around 400 SME’s have engaged with the tool so far. It should also be mentioned that the UK government has genuine concern about the effect of Brexit on Ireland, and a strong desire to make the effects as painless as possible.

It’s a priceless asset that British and Irish politicians, civil servants and diplomats have such a history of cooperation and more importantly, in the EU, where they have been allies.

Trust matters, and both governments know that when it comes to the deal to be got from the EU, their job is to informally agree mutually beneficial solutions to the problems faced by Ireland.