2026-02-19

6. Deputy Sinéad Gibney asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the steps his Department is taking to support SMEs with rising delivery and postage costs, and the impact of those increased costs on their competitiveness and ability to do business; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13367/26]

As other Deputies have raised, SMEs are acutely feeling the cost of business right now. Many of them do not have the budget or level of business to be able to engage the courier services for the same rates as bigger businesses. Many rely on An Post but it has recently increased its rates and lowered the upper limit for parcels. What is the Department doing to support small businesses dealing with the cost of delivery services so they can get their products to the consumers who continue to support them?

The Government fully recognises that small and medium enterprises have faced significant cost pressures in recent years, driven by high energy prices, global supply chain disruptions and international economic developments. Despite these ongoing challenges, progress is being made to support SMEs, with the Government taking proactive steps to implement measures to reduce business costs and ease regulatory pressures. The Government is pleased to note there are emerging signs of improvement, with the CSO's wholesale price index showing a 6.4% decrease in the year to December 2025. The cost of postage is a commercial matter for An Post, and I would advise the Deputy to follow up with the company in that regard. My Department is delivering on the programme for Government with two priority commitments: first, to improve the business cost environment with the establishment of the cost of business advisory forum in June 2025; and, second, to strengthen Ireland’s competitiveness position in response to international economic developments with the publication of the action plan on competitiveness and productivity in September 2025. The cost of business advisory forum serves as a central mechanism to examine the key cost pressures affecting SMEs by bringing together business representative groups, Government Departments, State agencies and regulators to discuss a series of agreed thematic areas, such as energy, insurance, infrastructure and planning and legal costs. It is advancing further work on regulatory costs and payment, banking and financial services. Its objective is to identify practical actions that can reduce the cost burden on SMEs and support a more competitive business environment. While delivery and postage costs have not been specifically raised as an issue for discussion by the members of SME representative bodies, the work of the forum is still ongoing. Work is under way to present its findings and a series of recommendations in a final report to Government and the indicative timeframe for that is later this year.

This issue has been raised with me and I suggest that if the Government is looking for practical measures, this is one that it should explore. We have a landscape where many small businesses do not even have retail spaces any more and make the majority of their money from online orders which they then have to send via the post or by courier to their customers. The cost of doing this has gone through the roof and there is very little these businesses can do to mitigate it, except to put up their prices. I hear so much talk about Ireland's competitiveness and the need to support a competitive economy and yet this has a huge impact on the ability of small businesses to compete. This is at a time when we are encouraging businesses to explore further digitalisation. Local enterprise offices can only do so much and we need to see real ambition from the Department when it comes to addressing the daily struggles of small businesses in a meaningful way. I accept that this should be raised with An Post directly and with the other Department with oversight of that organisation. However, this is not the first time that I have raised an issue only to be told to go to another Minister but I would argue that this is what Cabinet is for. Ministers can liaise with each other at Cabinet and the Department of enterprise can connect with the Department of culture, communications and sport to ensure that these small businesses are not being penalised.

Delivery and postage costs are primarily a commercial matter for An Post and that is the reality. We are in the Department of enterprise but there is a Minister of State in another Department who actually deals with An Post specifically. We will engage in open dialogue and listen further to business representative groups either through the enterprise forum or the retail forum the Minister, Deputy Burke, and I chair. If it emerges as a key priority, then certainly we will feed it directly into those considerations and escalate it through the proper channels. I accept some of the Deputy's points and understand some of the frustration that small businesses and enterprises may face with rising input costs. That is why we have stepped up substantive supports in recent times. In budget 2026, we delivered over €9.4 billion in a pro-enterprise package to try to support our SMEs and businesses over the next number of years. We will ensure that Government can respond to the cost pressures but also build resilience into the sector so that we can continue to create jobs and support communities right across the country.

I appreciate the Minister of State's willingness to explore this issue. I would argue that there are two ways to tackle it. One is by looking at the retail costs of An Post and the other is by looking at the supports that the his Department can specifically offer. Small business owners who have contacted my office feel forgotten. Some are new, some have been in operation for decades but these businesses are not aiming to become big operations. They provide goods and services that people want. They provide employment and a huge benefit to their communities. A small business which employs people but never expands to become a franchise, a mid-cap or unicorn is still a public good, an economic good and an important part of Irish society and enterprise. All of the supports that the Department has for such businesses seem to lead back to a business model based on either making SMEs into big businesses or allowing them to struggle and fold. Delivery cost is such a nuts and bolts basic issue. Every business needs to be able to deliver its products to its customers. Recent changes have impacted the ability of SMEs to do that and compete effectively in our economy. This is something the Department should be keen to help to tackle and find solutions for.

I acknowledge the points the Deputy has raised. The Minister, Deputy Burke, the Minister of State, Deputy Smyth, and I are listening to businesses and SMEs. We have established the cost of doing business advisory forum, which is independently chaired. It engages directly with the key SME employer representative bodies, including IBEC, Retail Excellence Ireland, ISME and Chambers Ireland. It is a really important forum where we hear about the issues that matter most to businesses but also design practical policy responses. An integral part of that is ensuring that businesses can remain competitive, viable and sustainable into the future. I take the Deputy's point about the delivery and postal cost increases. If it is an issue of concern, we will respond in a systematic way to try to address some of the challenges that smaller businesses may encounter. Again, I thank the Deputy for raising this matter on the floor of the House.