2026-06-16

142. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment if he is exploring new measures to assist with the cost of doing business; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45347/26]

Essentially, what I am asking about is the cost of doing business. With rates, insurance, electricity and labour costs, the costs of doing business over the past few years have soared and while the Government has, at times, tried to intervene and support people, I want to know what plans the Minister has to further support businesses?

I thank the Deputy for his question. The Government continues to actively monitor cost developments across all sectors of the economy. The small business unit was established in the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment last year, fulfilling a programme for Government commitment. There are a number of tools this unit and the Department will use to enable its work, including rigorous implementation of the SME test. The SME test tasks policy makers to consider the impact that any new policy, legislation or regulation may have on SMEs and to mitigate those impacts, where appropriate. Access to grants and support programmes has been simplified through the launch of the national enterprise hub. This is hosted and operated by Enterprise Ireland and has over 250 different supports for businesses from 32 Departments and agencies. Since its launch in 2024, the national enterprise hub has handled over 15,000 inquiries. Monthly volumes have grown steadily, with over 940 queries received in May alone, representing a 33% increase on the same period last year. The average response time has consistently remained within 24 hours. The hub's website has also attracted significant interest, with over 300,000 visits since its establishment. The small business unit has responsibility for the local enterprise offices and we are ensuring the LEOs are properly resourced to help small businesses. A review of the full suite of LEO supports is currently under way, while the Department and Enterprise Ireland are completing a review of applications for all LEO grants to reduce the number of questions and simplify requirements. The cost of doing business advisory forum was established in June 2025 as part of the programme for Government commitment to ensure we reduce business costs and ease regulatory burdens. This forum serves as a structured platform to bring together enterprise representative bodies and a number of sectors across Departments, State agencies and regulators.

Go raibh maith agat a Aire Stáit. I appreciate the update and the work that is ongoing. A key area I want to highlight, and I know the Minister of State is hearing this regularly, is energy costs. Energy remains one of the largest overheads for SMEs, particular in the hospitality sector, the manufacturing sector and the agribusiness sector. Small businesses do not have the same purchasing power that larger entities or corporations might have. It might be feasible for a large entity to buy the energy coming from some renewable energy development but this is not feasible for small businesses and small manufacturing entities. We have so much talent in our communities. I think of all the great businesses in Galway East that have massive energy costs but do not have the scale to purchase power at that level. What is the Minister of State doing specifically to support further solar grants and energy efficiency and reduce long-term energy costs? The price of electricity is simply too high.

I thank Deputy Dolan for his question. I know he has been big advocate of ensuring our energy system is supported and remains resilient and sustainable. Across government, through the Department of climate and energy, we are driving the delivery of renewable energy and solar PV. Through SEAI grants we have seen a huge uptake in the number of businesses that have adopted new technology in regard to solar PV and energy efficiency measures, which is very important. The SEAI does wonderful work to engage with businesses throughout the country. The cost of doing business advisory forum brings together decision-makers, enterprises and businesses, regulators and key agencies. We see work undertaken by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU, on how we structure the cost of energy in terms of transparency on what businesses pay for. We want to go further in how we regulate that market.

The Government has to go further, in particular for small and medium enterprises that do not have the scale to acquire electricity at a discounted rate. This is who we have to consider and support. I want to move on to another cost of business issue which is constantly coming up for me, in particular in recent weeks. It is with regard to rates. Commercial rates are increasingly becoming a frustration for businesses. I understand that rates were not revalued for a long time but the revaluation has led to significant costs imposed on businesses. Sometimes there is a value question. The businesses pay rates but they could be in a rural location and they just are not seeing the value of what they are paying. There has to be better engagement from local authorities on this. Has the Minister of State assessed the impact that increased rates costs are having on small and medium enterprises? What does he plan to do about this cost?

The challenges around rates are always contentious for small businesses and retailers in every town and city. It is not a function of the Department of enterprise to control that. Rates are a very important revenue stream for local authorities and central to delivering the required services. Deputy Dolan knows, as a former councillor, how important it is and how contentious it is for executive management to ensure it has this income stream. However, we do need to make better utilisation of how rates are proportionately absorbed by a lot of small businesses. I will undertake a review of the local enterprise offices to ensure there is more structure in place. We see rates abatement for many new businesses that may establish in towns, whereby a percentage of the full rate is forgone in the early years. That is very important. Rates are a devolved function of councillors and local government but we need to modernise them in the current era and see how we can support businesses in future.