2026-07-15

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this matter on the cumulative regulatory burden and the rising cost of doing business. It is certainly not an abstract issue. As someone born and raised in a family business, I am acutely aware of the challenges that many businesses face. I am very conscious that the two Ministers of State at the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, Deputies Niamh Smyth and Alan Dillon, and the Minister, Deputy Burke, have very much taken a proactive approach in their Department, constructively leading to strong results by adopting a simpler, lighter and faster approach to enterprise and the sector. We have seen nearly 15,000 new companies registered in the first half of 2026, a 13% increase on the same period last year. At that pace of increase in registration, we are going to see one of the strongest years ever in relation to company registrations. There is no doubt that Ireland is a great place to invest. We are seeing exceptional growth in artificial intelligence and digital technology, as well as pharmaceuticals and manufacturing. For many small and micro-businesses and family businesses, however, viability is becoming an increasing challenge. These are businesses that are the cornerstone of local communities, sponsoring local events, community groups and sports organisations. For many of them, it is now a question of survival. Since I entered this House, I have done a considerable amount of work trying to highlight that. I carried out a survey last year on foot of which 600 business owners highlighted the concerns they had around the future viability of their businesses. This has been built on by ISME, which found that 78% of respondents cited business costs as a big issue facing SMEs. That is also recognised by the Small Firms Association, which points to a 40% cumulative increase in costs over the past three years. My fear is that the burden of these costs is being placed on employers and is reducing the number of employees and employers, specifically small businesses. Not every business has the potential or wants to scale up. We have made progress in relation to the likes of the 9% VAT rate. I have met many of these businesses over recent weeks, and they have basically said that this was the difference between being in profit and being in loss. It is Government recognition of the challenges and is very much welcomed, but we need to continue to address viability. When we look at some of the reports from the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU, in recent weeks, in which it has stated that more businesses need to consider switching, we note that this comes down to a lack of time for many of them. They are spending more time behind a desk and less time at the counter, where they should be serving customers. There are growing regulatory complexities and burdens, demanding tax obligations, investment needed in energy efficiencies, insurance premium hikes, complex applications for Government supports, and unattainable legal and planning costs. An Coimisiún Pleanála announced this week that it will be up to a year before it has a decision on the water pipeline from the mid-west to Dublin. If that is what it takes for the largest infrastructure development the country has ever seen, at a cost of €5.9 billion, what encouragement does it give to a small business that wants to expand or introduce a storage facility? There is a real need for urgent action by the Government to engage with An Coimisiún Pleanála to ensure this process is not delayed and that we see delivery from small business, societal and economic perspectives. Overall, the SME test has been beneficial and productive, and we need to continue to do that. I ask that concrete steps be considered for budget 2027 that will see meaningful and impactful measures to ensure the survival of small and medium businesses, and to build on the work we have seen with the recently introduced 9% VAT rate for the hospitality sector, provided for in budget 2026.

I thank the Deputy, including for the energy he brings to the Oireachtas committee with responsibility for enterprise. He and his colleagues come from a genuine business background, so he is speaking from experience. That makes a huge difference at Oireachtas committees and in feeding into the work of the Department with me, the Minister, Deputy Burke, and the other Minister of State, Deputy Dillon. It is very helpful and very much appreciated. I thank the Deputy for the energy and experience he brings to his role. I want to outline the Department's priorities for Ireland's Presidency of the Council of the European Union, centred on building a more competitive, innovative and resilient European economy. The Deputy's question is particularly around the regulatory burden. We have to have the relevant conversation knowing that, in the background, the evidence is available from the Draghi and Letta reports that right across Europe, not just in Ireland, we may have lost sight of what is required a little by being so correct about how we do things. We have laid huge burdens on the SME sector in particular. As the Deputy rightly stated, SMEs do not have huge human resources departments. They are multitasking, as they have to, and they are very much the backbone of this country. In light of that, we are using our Presidency to ensure we are harnessing competitiveness, including by paring back on the regulatory and bureaucratic burden that has been on businesspeople in this country for a very long time. A key cross-cutting priority will be reducing administrative burdens and improving the business environment and ecosystem. My Department will advance simplification measures to ensure EU rules are proportionate, effective and supportive of enterprise. When we say that, we are not saying that it somehow becomes the Wild West to do business. That is not it. It is about giving that gold stamp of approval to businesses, but also taking away the regulatory burden. "Simplifying" is probably a better word. The Minister, Deputy Burke, is leading the way on all this and established the cost of business advisory forum in June 2025, delivering on a programme for Government commitment. Its purpose is to examine key cost drivers and assess the impact of the rising cost of regulatory pressures on businesses in Ireland. The forum's independent report and recommendations will be presented to the Government and published on 22 July. I thank that committee for its incredible work in respect of that forum. It has been very helpful to us in our Department. These recommendations will aim to help businesses remain competitive and resilient in an increasingly challenging economic environment. The Action Plan on Competitiveness and Productivity was published by the Department in September 2025. It contains 85 actions. Actions are important. We need to consider these not just as recommendations but as actions that we can take as a Government to ensure our competitiveness and productivity performance. The aim behind one of the themes in the plan, "Regulating for Growth and Controlling Costs", is to ensure that the regulatory costs faced by Ireland's businesses are kept to a minimum. The action plan includes measures to support the development of a more effective regulatory system that seeks to support sustainable economic growth while controlling overall cost levels, because we know they have grown exponentially and, in some cases, have got out of control for people trying to stay in business. One such measure is the introduction of the red tape challenge across government to significantly reduce regulation and administrative burden for SMEs, which is incredibly important. Work on the red tape challenge is under way, and progress will be closely monitored. Implementation of the action plan is at an advanced stage. Officials from my Department provided an update on progress at the Competitiveness Summit on 13 July. For priority actions, 65.4% have either been implemented or are on track, while 34.6% are partially implemented and considered in progress. I will let the Deputy come back in.

I have a number of asks. First, we need to look at the effectiveness of the local enterprise office, LEO, reporting to the local authority and Enterprise Ireland. There is a question there of effectiveness. I would also like to see the local authority leading out on enterprise parks to give opportunities for businesses. I would like to see more competition in the banking sector and looking at new creative ways of accessing finances for small businesses. I would like to see the following approach. A good example is what the Vintners’ Federation of Ireland, VFI, has proposed in relation to an on-trade keg of draft beer or cider sustainability scheme where there would be proportionate and focused support for small pubs, considering their vital role in local communities. They are no different from newsagents or hardware stores where they are providing not just employment and economic activity but they are social anchors in our community as well. This scheme proposing a tax credit of €20 on every 50-litre keg of draft beer would be a huge tangible benefit to our local communities. I ask for it to be considered in the 2027 budget. This will not just protect the heart and soul of our commercial trading but it will protect our social activity and jobs and will support businesses. We would continue to see that rural and regional development and activity and build on the work that has been done. I do not want this to be seen as being critical of the Government. We are moving in the right direction. We are on the right trajectory in relation to trying to cut out that red tape to ensure there is a seamless way of going about business and that it is encouraged. Far too often, we see now where there are challenges around succession from one generation to the next in family businesses. We have to ask: why is that happening? We need to see a broader and greater appeal and ensure that we do not see lights go out. One in five pubs has closed over the past 20 years. We see similar trends in relation to shops like newsagents and others. There is a real opportunity now to build on the work of VAT 9 in the last budget and to ensure that we continue to support small business.

I thank the Deputy very much for his presentation. It is very heartfelt but, equally important, it comes from his experience in both business and on the committee. I take his point on the effectiveness of LEOs. We can see some LEOs being hugely effective but maybe that is not the same across the country. We may need to do a mapping exercise to see the effectiveness of all our LEOs across the country. I concur with his presentation about the importance of our local authorities being able to develop enterprise parks. In my experience of the Cavan and Monaghan area, we have nowhere to develop. There may be no finance or no obvious channel of finance for the local authority to do it. Enterprise Ireland and IDA are incredibly agile and energetic Government agencies. At that local level, we find that many businesses are operating from a back shed, particularly in country parts, and along highways and byways. It is about providing the facilities, ecosystem and infrastructure. Our local authorities are very energised about doing that. We need to find ways of channelling that energy and to give them the finances and the infrastructure to do it. I concur with that. I am working with the Minister, Deputy Burke, to see what avenues and finance we can provide to our local authorities to achieve that. The Deputy is right about access to finance. We hear all the time that the pillar banks are not always the easiest for the SME sector to do business with and are not always the great risk-takers that our SMEs have to be and need to be. That is what gives them the fire in their belly every day of the week to get up and run their businesses. We need to make finance more accessible to them. Regarding the proposal the Deputy made for the publicans, I like his term "social anchor". I agree with that, particularly in country parts and in small towns and villages. In my town, we went from 46 pubs down to two or three that are in business today. In today's world, we do not need 46 pubs, however, those who remain and continue to invest in those pubs and that industry are incredibly important. They are a social anchor and should be supported as well. I have a very detailed reply to give the Deputy, and I will share that with him.