Government Must do more To Prepare For Brexit

Deputy Chambers made the comments after obtaining new information which shows that only 100 companies to date have availed of the ‘Brexit Be Prepared Grant’.

Deputy Chambers said, “The fact that only 100 companies have availed of the Brexit Be Prepared Grant is worrying given that Brexit is less than a year away.

"Moreover, both PWC and the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank have recently said that a hard Brexit remains a very real possibility.

“Domestically the Government has not done enough in my view to encourage companies to prepare for Brexit. I am concerned that the Government is being complacent when it comes to ensuring businesses are ready to deal with the potential fallout that Brexit may bring.

“One only has to look at the recent AIB survey which showed that just 6% of SME’s in Ireland have a Brexit plan in place. We are constantly being told by the Tánaiste and the Taoiseach that the Government are preparing contingency plans for all scenarios but yet we see little evidence of this on the ground.

"It’s time they woke up and showed the leadership and guidance that our businesses desperately need in preparing for Brexit."

She concluded: “This is not Fianna Fáil making a political issue of Brexit; it is us attempting to ensure that our businesses and SME's are not sleepwalking into a hard Brexit without sufficient plans in place."