Chambers Ireland Weekly Digest-23 July 2018
1.Project Ireland 2040 Funds
The €2bn Urban Regeneration and Development Fund and the €1bn Rural Regeneration and Development Fund are now open as part of Project Ireland 2040. We would like to invite you to an information session on these funds. William Parnell, the Assistant Secretary General in the Department of Rural and Community Development along with a senior representative from the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government to offer guidance on accessing the funds and the criteria for applying.
Also, a consultation for Water Tariff Harmonisation for non-domestic users (businesses) is currently under way. At this briefing we will discuss the harmonisation proposals for the various counties and how to represent your members’ views during the consultation.
The briefing will take place in the Red Cow Moran Hotel this Tuesday the 24th of July beginning at 11am.
Please confirm with james.kiernan@chambers.ie that you or one of your colleagues will be in a position to attend.
2.Employer Disability Information service (EDI) – IMPACT Survey
The Employer Disability Information service (EDI), Ireland’s national resource for advice for employers on the employment of people with disabilities, has developed an IMPACT survey to analyse the work completed by the EDI project over the past three years.
We would be grateful if you could complete the survey and share the survey with your members and contacts.
To access the survey, please click here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/5FX9ZC8
3.Consultation on Irish Water’s Non-Domestic Tariff Harmonisation
The CRU has published Irish Water’s proposals for a new Non-Domestic Tariff Framework which will apply to Irish Water’s non-domestic (business) customers. The purpose of the Framework is to generate a more harmonised suite of tariffs for non-domestic water and wastewater customers.
The Framework will set out the ‘rules’ for how tariffs are designed and how customers will be transitioned to their new tariffs over time. Irish Water hopes that a more harmonised approach will benefit customers in terms of transparency, simplicity and equity.
The CRU wishes to seek views from interested parties on each of Irish Water’s proposals before the CRU makes a decision on the tariff design and transitional aspects of the new Framework.
To view the relevant information, please visit https://www.cru.ie/document_group/establishing-irish-waters-non-domestic-tariff-framework/
Please contact Elisha elisha.collierobrien@chambers.ie by Tuesday, July 31st COB.
4.Future of Europe / European Elections 2019
As you may know, the European Commission has an ongoing public consultation concerning the Future of Europe (open until next year) and the Irish Government has also been holding a number of public events on this matter.
Our colleagues in Eurochambres plan to draft their own European Chamber position paper on what the wider Network feels should be the priorities for the EU going forward.
They have asked for our views on what business believes the priorities of the EU should be going forward.
Therefore, we would be grateful if you could send Chambers Ireland any thoughts or views of your members.
We believe having a business friendly position on the Future of Europe will be very important ahead of the European elections in May 2019.
Please feel free to contact our EU & International Affairs Manager Emma Kerins to discuss this by phone on +353 (0) 1 400 4303,
alternatively please send on your feedback or comments directly to emma.kerins@chambers.ie before Monday, 20th of August.
5.Commission Rules of Origin Questionnaire and Test Tool
The European Commission has released an online test tool and questionnaire, aimed at exporters, that has been designed to give information to operators and to help address their needs in relation to Rules of Origin.
The below link will give you access to the anonymous questionnaire and the test version of the online tool. It will take approx. 10-15 minutes to complete the form.
http://madb.europa.eu/madb/indexPubli.htm
After filling in the questionnaire you are asked to try the test version of a ‘decision tree’. This ‘tree’ is a draft tool to aid EU exporters in determining whether their products comply with the Rules of Origin set out in our FTAs.
6.EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement – Trade Tool & Chamber Member Benefits
The EU has finalised negotiations with Japan for the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement, a new trade agreement which will remove regulatory barriers from exports to Japan from businesses exporting from the EU while establishing strong guarantees for the protection of EU standards and values across all EU-Japan trade.
To provide a clearer understanding of the complete benefits the trade agreement will bring to businesses of different sizes across the EU, the European Commission has developed a new interactive online tool, ‘EU-Japan trade in your town’, breaking down the impact of the deal for each EU member country at national level.
To access the online tool, click here.
To see the impact of the deal for Ireland, click here.
We at Chambers Ireland would also greatly appreciate it if all Chambers were to consult with their members on any benefits which they believe they will experience as a result of the agreement of the EU-Japan trade deal.
Please submit any feedback from your members on what benefits they believe they will experience to Emma.Kerins@chambers.ie.
7.*REMINDER* Environmental Protection Agency – 2018 Green Enterprise Funding Call – Deadline Thursday 26th July
The EPA launched their 2018 Green Enterprise: Innovation for a Circular Economy funding call in mid-June and the deadline for applications for the call is *this month, Thursday 26th of July*.
This €600,000 funding programme aims to support innovators in Ireland to develop and demonstrate consumer and business solutions that will stimulate resource efficiency and the circular economy.
For further information on the call Technical Descriptions, Terms & Conditions and Application/Grantee Guides please click here.
8.Department of Business, Enterprise & Innovation – Brexit Preparedness Notices
Efforts are currently underway to reach an agreement to ensure the withdrawal of the UK from the EU occurs with minimum disruption and to put in place a framework for a future relationship which will enable the closest possible EU-UK relationship post Brexit.
However, the UK’s notification of its intention to withdraw from the EU has created significant uncertainties. The European Commission has therefore sought to clarify what the situation will be for a number of business sectors in the event that no agreement is reached to mitigate the impacts of the UK’s withdrawal.
Notices have been issued in respect of industrial products, company law, trademarks, auditing and import and export licenses as well as a range of other areas. A list of the notices published to date are available to view on the Commission’s website at the following link: European Commission Brexit Preparedness
The Department of Business, Enterprise & Innovation (DBEI) is encouraging firms to review these notices and consider relevant actions that may be required to mitigate any potential negative impacts that may arise for them in terms of Brexit.
If you have any queries regarding these Brexit Preparedness Notices or the industrial sector which your business operates in, with regards to preparing for Brexit,
please contact our EU & International Affairs Manager Emma Kerins, via her email address: Emma.Kerins@chambers.ie
9.Save the Date: European Parliament of Enterprises 2018
The European Parliament of Enterprises (EPE), hosted by Eurochambres every two years, is scheduled to take place in the European Parliament in Brussels on Wednesday, the 10th of October 2018. More information on the event will be circulated in the coming weeks.
Several Chambers have sent delegates to the EPE in the past and their Chambers have benefitted because of their participation.
If you have any questions about the event, please contact emma.kerins@chambers.ie