2026-04-28

121. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the measures his Department is taking to address the increasing number of shop closures in towns and villages across the State contributing to growing levels of dereliction; to detail any current or planned initiatives aimed at supporting small and independent retailers in rural and regional areas, including financial supports, rates relief or targeted regeneration schemes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30924/26]

Towns and villages up and down the country are suffering from dereliction. Vacant and boarded up shops are all too common now in once vibrant communities and towns. Once thriving businesses, which employed local people have been replaced by empty units, a visible reminder that the Government is failing our SME sector. What new initiatives does the Minister plan to introduce to tackle this escalating problem given current solutions are not working?

I thank the Deputy for the question. It is very important that we all acknowledge the importance of having vibrant towns and villages and that local shops and the retail sector are an important part of achieving that aim. The retail sector provides highly important employment, with over 220,000 people directly employed in retail, contributing to the economy of every city, town and village in Ireland. As the Deputy will be aware, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht developed the town centre first policy, which was launched in 2022. This is a major cross-government policy that aims to tackle vacancy, combat dereliction and breathe new life into our town centres. In March, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy James Browne, launched the vacant over-the-shop grant, which will provide funding of up to €135,000 to support bringing above-the-shop vacant spaces into residential use where the commercial element is remaining. This grant is one of a number of measures, including a targeted top-up of the vacant property refurbishment grant and the expert advice grant, aimed at unlocking unused spaces in cities, towns and villages by converting vacant and derelict buildings and unused above-the-shop areas into residential homes. The retail forum allows key issues of relevance to the retail sector to be discussed with a view to identifying practical actions which could be taken by the Government, or by industry itself, to support the sector, with particular emphasis on achieving sustainable jobs growth in the sector. The work of the forum is driven by its members and the issues that they have identified as being critical to examine to support sustainable jobs growth in the retail sector. A broad range of supports for the retail sector, including training programmes and funding to help retailers adapt to new challenges and opportunities in retail, can be found on the national enterprise hub at www.neh.ie. This all-of-government service, staffed by expertly trained advisers, is focused on helping businesses to access a range of Government supports.

The Minister's policies are not hitting the ground because towns and villages are hollowing out, with visible increases in vacancy and dereliction and declining footfall. Small and independent retailers, particularly in rural and regional areas, are facing unsustainable cost pressures. We know that rising costs in energy, insurance, rents and commercial rates are disproportionately impacting small businesses compared to the larger multinationals. The Minister of State, Deputy Dillon, who is beside the Minister will know what I am talking about when I say that I walked down the street in Castlebar last week and saw a number of businesses closed. He knows that businesses that have been there for years, if not generations, are gone and those units are now empty. That is exactly what I am talking about. We need action to be able to ensure that those units are full. We need to work to make sure they do not close down in the first place but, if they do, that they are quickly repaired and reoccupied. I am also concerned about towns like Belmullet where shop units are being taken over for residential development in the middle of the town. I am worried about where towns are going when we do not have businesses in them.

The town centre first policy has 33 actions right across government to enhance our town centres and villages. It is from the ground up and is community-led, to really accelerate those resources. The grant that I referenced of €135,000 will be of assistance in bringing on accommodation over the shop. We established our small business unit within the Department just a year ago and it has introduced a number of supports which are really targeted at our small business sector. As evidenced by Central Statistics Office data, all 13 sectors in our economy are now growing. There are challenges in town centres and that is why these grants are specifically targeted to bring them back to life. We can see the direct results of that, as well as through the croí cónaithe initiative, which is bringing homes back into use and accommodation over the shop. That will be a big asset. We have a cost-of-business advisory forum, which is due to report in the coming weeks. That will look at business costs and how we can reach a position where we are taking less money from businesses by reducing their utility costs and growing their revenue, which is key to keeping them sustainable.

What the Government is doing is not working because vacancy rates in many towns are persistently high or rising, particularly outside the major urban areas. According to the GeoDirectory commercial buildings report prepared by EY in February, the national commercial vacancy rate in Ireland increased to 14.6% by the end of 2025. This is the highest rate recorded by GeoDirectory since it began tracking commercial vacancy data in 2013. In total, there were 30,687 vacant commercial units across the country in the fourth quarter of 2025. If what the Minister has outlined was working, this would not be the case. Fourteen counties experienced an increase in vacancy rates, with Sligo recording the highest commercial vacancy rate. Dereliction is not just an aesthetic issue. It affects the local economy and tourism and the existing supports clearly are not working.

I would argue that we have a number of new schemes, particularly the one announced this month, which will make a difference to dereliction and reduce costs for businesses. We know from the evidence that traditional retail and hospitality are under significant pressure due to costs. What I have tried to do in the Department is bring about significant simplification measures. I have also tried to get additional grants in to small family businesses, which provide two thirds of employment across our economy. We can see that through our energy efficiency grant which reduces costs, or grants for growing their digital platform. We are very fixated on doing that. New changes were also made by the Department of Finance in relation to dereliction, going through the Revenue Commissioners. That will involve a carrot-and-stick approach. We now have very significant grants, on the positive side, but the Government has also demonstrated that it will take action if properties are not brought back into use, particularly when we have a housing challenge. It is important that we see conversion rates increase and the policy balance that we have now will achieve that.