Brendan Smith calls for all-Ireland industrial policy for SMEs
Brendan Smith addressed the Dáil on 10 Dec 2019 about the impact of Brexit on border-region small and medium enterprises and urged additional supports. He argued for an all-Ireland industrial, business and trade-promotion policy and warned that uncertainty from Brexit will have adverse impacts on the region.
Border-region concerns
The deputy highlighted the particular challenges facing small and medium enterprises in the border region, noting businesses on both the southern side and the northern side of the border form the backbone of the local economy. He warned that uncertainty arising from Brexit has not gone away and that the region will suffer adverse impacts with no expected benefits.
Call for all-Ireland industrial and business policy
The speaker reiterated his long-standing advocacy for an all-Ireland industrial policy, an all-Ireland business policy and all-Ireland trade-promotion policies. He recalled that six all-Ireland bodies were established under the 1998 Good Friday Agreement and said additional implementation bodies in trade promotion and health education were always intended but have not been developed.
Local enterprise offices and OECD critique
The deputy referenced the report's citation of the OECD conclusion that local enterprise offices are not fit for purpose, while praising the personnel in local offices in Cavan and Monaghan. He urged that any assistance or restructuring ensure those officers are resourced to continue supporting employment, job creation and local economic growth.
Appeal to the Minister and regional examples
He appealed directly to the Minister to provide further supports for companies through the post-Brexit transition and to consider establishing all-Ireland measures to assist cross-border businesses. He noted county enterprise boards and local enterprise boards have helped some SMEs grow into international corporations while remaining based in the region and asked that supports be built on that foundation.
We publish thousands of recordings to make Irish politics transparent and resistant to manipulation. Spotted an error? Report it — together we are building a reliable archive of Irish politics.
to make a short contribution to this important report. My colleagues, deputies, Robert Trier and Amos Gannon, in debt with some of the details of the report earlier. And I want to refer, Minister, specifically to the needs of the border region. Through parliamentary questions and other debates in this House, we have discussed the particular challenges facing small and medium enterprises in the border region due to Brexit. And of course, as we know, the backbone of our economy in our region, both on the southern side of the border and the northern side of the border, are small and medium enterprises. Again, I would appeal to you, Minister, and I know some supports have been put in place, to ensure that additional supports are put in place to assist our companies through the transition that will happen post-Brexit. Because that uncertainty, unfortunately, has not gone away. Brexit has been out of our daily vocabulary for some time because of the British general election. But I think we have to deal with the reality that there will be adverse impacts from Brexit and, unfortunately, no benefits for our particular region. Minister, I have advocated in the past, as have other public representatives and members of this House, that we need an all-Ireland industrial policy, an all-Ireland business policy. And it's a shame that we haven't gone to have additional all-Ireland implementation bodies. 1998, with the sign of the Good Friday Agreement, six all-Ireland bodies were established. The premise at that time was always that additional bodies would be established in the area of trade promotion and the area of health education. Sadly, we haven't developed that, maximising the potential of the Good Friday Agreement. We know very well, where we represent, along with Cahir Lough Declan, that many of our companies are cross-border. They're all-Ireland bodies. They should be assisted by agencies that have an all-Ireland remit. There's a great case to be met at this particular time, due to Brexit, that we have all-Ireland industrial, all-Ireland business policy and all-Ireland trade promotion policies. That can do only good for business north and south and all-Ireland businesses. I would love to see that particular issue moved on. Again, Minister, our economy, be it Cavan, Monaghan, Fermanagh, Armagh, Tyrone, in that general area, very heavily dependent small and medium enterprises. Thankfully, with the assistance that was given by the county enterprise boards in the past and more recently by local enterprise boards, some of our small and medium enterprises have become international corporations, still based in our own region. And I know one particular point that's made in this report is where the OECD state that the local enterprise offices are not fit for purpose. I have a great rapport, and I know you have with our local offices in Cavanagh, Monaghan. They have had great personnel working in them over the years. And I would sincerely hope that whatever additional assistance or restructuring is given, that those personnel are given the resources to ensure that they can continue to assist employment and generate jobs and grow the economy in our particular region. So, I can hear it with those few short words. I would appeal to the Minister to give further consideration to the points that I have outlined in the past and here this evening as well. Thank you very much.
Thank you for downloading 🙏
If you publish this material on social media, we would be very grateful if you tagged VideoParliament. It helps us reach more people and keep building a transparent archive of Irish politics.
