New Brexit Business Survey – SMEs Urged to Ramp Up Preparations
The Department for Business, Enterprise and Innovation has published the findings of a new Brexit survey. The Behaviour & Attitudes survey of 1,016 SMEs was conducted between September and October 2019. The key findings include:
- Impact
13% are experiencing significant Brexit impact; 39% report some impact; 48% report no impact; and 72% expect an impact even with an orderly Brexit.
32% (up from 21% in March) have postponed a business decision or investment, while only 17% (up from 11%) have accelerated a business decision or investment. Stalling is higher among export businesses.
- Preparedness
77% reported that Brexit is on the agenda of their top management – up from 33% after the referendum in mid-2016. This rises to 86% among UK exporters. An extra 14% have been discussing Brexit within the past 6 months. Key areas of concern are supply chain, tariffs and customs protocols.
60% have sought information through attending a workshop, applying for supports or reading information they received. This compares with 40% in March.
- Action
33% have taken some action, while 42% of those exporting to the UK have done so. It may be difficult for SMEs to act when the exact challenges remain unclear. 22% of SME UK importers/exporters plan to engage a customs agent (12% have already actioned this). 21% will train someone internally (8% have done so already).
Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Heather Humphreys TD said: “I fully accept that it has been difficult for businesses to plan for a situation that is in no way clear cut. The fact that we have had a number of false starts at this stage may have created some doubt in the business community about whether Brexit would happen at all.
“The election result means that the UK Government has a clear majority. This brings a certainty we have been lacking up to now and every indication is that the UK will be leaving the EU at the end of January. The threat of a crash-out may have subsided for now but the reality is that any kind of Brexit is going to hurt Irish enterprise.
“It’s important also for everybody to remember that Brexit doesn’t end on the 31st January. Yes – if the Withdrawal agreement is passed, we will have achieved our core objectives of ensuring no hard border on the island of Ireland, protecting the Good Friday Agreement, and safeguarding the Single Market as well as our place in it.
“However, we are now heading into a long and complex process with the negotiations on the future relationship between the EU and the UK. Against this backdrop, my message to firms is this: act now to protect your business and employees. Brexit is happening and businesses must therefore proactively plan for a different trading relationship with the UK.”
The Government has developed a wide range of supports to help businesses put a plan in place from grants to mentoring to loan schemes, visit www.gov.ie/Brexit.
The Minister of State for Trade, Employment, Business, EU Digital Single Market and Data Protection, Pat Breen said: “A quarter of firms report that they use the UK landbridge to transit goods to and from EU markets. I want to remind these businesses that there is a simplified transit customs process for goods using the landbridge, but to avail of it you must put in place a Revenue approved comprehensive financial guarantee. This can take time, so I urge businesses to start this process with their financial provider and Revenue straight away. You can do it yourself or get your customs agent or logistics company to do it for you but start the process now to be ready in time.”
