Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)

I thank the Deputy for raising this. He is right that the digital transition, particularly for small and medium-sized businesses, is going to be increasingly important in the years ahead. We talked a few moments ago about what that means for the way people invest their money. We know it is transforming every part of our economy. We also know some of the costs involved in this for smaller and medium-sized businesses can sometimes be very challenging.

With regard to the tax code, I will highlight a number of schemes in place to support businesses. First, we have the angel investor relief scheme. We have accelerated capital allowances, for example, with regard to energy-efficient equipment, though I know that relates more to the green transition than to the digital transition. Most important, the R and D tax credit is available, which we discussed earlier. That credit is the part of our tax code that makes the biggest difference to research and innovation within companies. We will bring forward the R and D compass, which will look at the direction of the R and D tax credit in the future and the role it can play in research and innovation within businesses.

I am conscious the Deputy is referring to something a little different as well. He is not just referring to the research and development companies engage in. He is referring to how technologies can change the way companies operate, what they sell, how they sell, how they are structured and how people use technology. That is different from research and development. It is other things. That is something the local enterprise offices try to support local businesses on. Over a number of years, different grants and vouchers were made available from LEOs to businesses to assist in the digital transition. That is the most effective way we can support the kind of change businesses need to make.

For all those reasons, and more generally because I do not think legislation is the place where we should commit to doing reports, I will not be able to accept the amendment but I assure the Deputy this is an area our enterprise offices will continue to prioritise because of the scale of change businesses have to make.