Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Wednesday, 18 October 2023
Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Challenges Facing the Fruit and Vegetable Industry: Discussion (Resumed)
Tim Lombard (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source
I am conscious of time. Can I come in on a related point? In the budget, we announced the increased cost of business grant, which is to assist businesses come to terms with the increase in the minimum wage. Unfortunately, most horticultural enterprises are going to be excluded from this because they are not paying rates. Does Ms Byrne not think there is a capacity for us to revisit the horticulture support scheme in that context? Otherwise, these horticulture operations have no mechanism to seek support or redress on the basis of having to ensure they pay the €12.70 minimum wage. It is an additional factor that would not have been factored in to the challenges the businesses were facing.
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