2025-11-13

12. Deputy Tony McCormack asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the measures being taken by his Department to support the retail sector; the initiatives in place to assist small and independent retailers facing cost pressures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [61547/25]

What additional supports is the Department considering to help small and medium enterprises to manage current cost pressures and restore business confidence and will he make a statement on the matter?

I thank the Deputy for his question. The Government acknowledges that the retail sector contributes to the economy of every city, town and village in Ireland. The sector provides highly important employment with over 220,000 people directly employed in retail. The programme for Government is clear on the intention to support small businesses and as the Minister of State with responsibility for retail, I am aware of the issues facing retailers. The 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, NEH. The NEH is an all-of-government service staffed by expertly trained advisers and is focused on helping businesses to access a range of Government supports. The hub brings together information and resources of over 250 Government supports from 32 different Departments and State agencies. The grow digital voucher offers up to €5,000 to small businesses, including retailers, to invest in technology such as e-commerce software, online booking systems and stock control, which are designed to enhance productivity and competitiveness. The energy efficiency grant provides up to a maximum of €10,000, with a 75% contribution rate from the Government to support investment in technologies and equipment identified in a green for business, GreenStart or Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI, energy audit. The aim of the scheme is to reduce the impact of enterprises on the environment, thereby increasing the agility and resilience of these businesses. In 2024, the Government introduced the power-up grant and the increased cost of business, ICOB, scheme, which paid out over €400 million to businesses. Included in this was a second ICOB payment and a €4,000 power-up grant for businesses in the retail sector. The Department opened a reclassification appeals process this July, which allowed businesses in the retail sector that had initially misclassified their business category an opportunity to reclassify. The cost of business advisory forum has been established, comprising SME and industry representative organisations, and the forum held its inaugural meeting in July. A report is due to the Government in the first quarter of next year, which will outline the forum's findings and highlight the steps that can be taken to mitigate rising costs.

While Ireland's balance sheet looks good on paper and the country is doing well at the moment, some small- and medium-sized businesses, including in retail, are anxious. They are doing their best to keep their doors open, but margins are tight. All the schemes the Minister of State mentioned need a bit of investment from the businesses, which is just not there at the moment. Many tell me that they are not looking for handouts, but a bit of help to steady the ship, practical supports and clearer direction. Schemes like the power-up grant the Minister of State mentioned earlier made a real difference in the past. Will he outline what fresh supports or initiatives are being considered to help small businesses invest, grow and feel confident about the year ahead, particularly in rural counties such as Offaly where SMEs are the backbone of the local communities?

Retail is evolving rapidly. We have seen significant changes in consumer habits. Shoppers now expect an online channel or experience, not just the physical presence on our high streets, as the Deputy experiences in Offaly, but also for them to offer multiple touchpoints, such as the implementation of websites, the digitalisation journey, mobile applications and in-store options. The Government is supporting businesses in that. There is a grow digital voucher of up to €5,000 for e-commerce platforms. We are also supporting business with consultancy advisers in digital transformation and local enterprise offices, LEOs. The Offaly office provides mentoring training and grants for lean, green and digital initiatives. We need to continue to support the retail sector, because we know how important it is. We are working with other Departments and with the Minister of State, Deputy Cummins, on planning statements around a retail strategy. That will ensure we have a balanced retail presence of physical stores and digitally integrated ones.

That is encouraging but it is not what I am hearing on the ground. The feedback that I am getting from business owners is that they often do not know where to start. The Minister of State mentioned the local enterprise offices, which do great work in County Offaly and other counties around the country. We need to make sure that people know about these places. Whether they are applying for funding, going digital or managing rising costs, this needs to be made clearer to them. Would the Minister of State consider developing a more hands-on, locally focused SME guidance programme where trained mentors or advisers could visit businesses directly, offer tailored advice and connect them quickly to the right grants or supports? That kind of practical, person-to-person guidance could make a real difference in helping SMEs to build confidence and plan ahead.

We are undertaking a review of the local enterprise offices to streamline them, reduce the administrative burden and make it easier for SMEs and businesses to access supports. We are conscious that we need to strengthen the role of the local enterprise offices because they have the local knowledge and are the touchpoint for many of these businesses in towns and villages across the country. They need that expert advice and mentoring to ensure that their businesses remain resilient and sustainable into the future. Through the work that we are doing in the cost of business advisory forum and the immediate financial relief that we are providing through the green transition and energy efficiency improvements, we want to support that because we know how important the retail sector is. As I said earlier, there are 220,000 jobs nationwide and we want to continue to support the Deputy's constituents in Offaly through sustainability and the competitiveness agenda, but also see how we can make it easier for businesses to access supports.