Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I fundamentally agree with the Deputy. The Deputy and I know better than most that there are an awful lot of promises made in this House in relation to the support needed for families and individuals in the cost-of-living crisis, but we also know that while we can make all the promises we want, if we do not have a thriving functioning economy, it is all for naught. We need the businesses and the economic powerhouses to produce the tax returns to allow us take the necessary measures that will be announced next week in the budget, be it in social welfare payments or support for that squeezed middle the Deputy defends every day, be it in Sligo, Leitrim, Donegal or the small part of Roscommon he also represents.

On the report, I fundamentally take the Deputy's point. We will not be waiting for the result of the report. That will be supplementary to what will be announced next Tuesday in the budget, affecting both my own Department and all Departments, because this is an all-of-government approach.

I reassure the Deputy that I am in full agreement with his points and the overall thrust. On what can be done and the most important thing the Government can do, we are making massive changes. They are necessary but we acknowledge they come with a cost that is largely borne by the same employers we require to fuel and drive our economy. The most important thing we can do is signpost those changes. There can be no surprises. Every employer in the country knows statutory sick pay is moving from three days to five days on 1 January. I will sign that order on New Year's Day. They also know we are moving towards a living wage and we will achieve that as per the timeline set out. It will not change. We will not deviate, but I fundamentally agree there are a number of measures that can be taken in relation to tax credits, in terms of grant aid through the various State agencies and through low-cost finance, and, crucially, through the budgetary supports there will be for businesses next Tuesday. I will not reveal what those supports are now because they have not been decided and they probably will not be decided until late - until Sunday night. The Deputy has been through more budgets than I have and he knows this is the way these things will be decided.

We simply have to support businesses on this journey. I will commit to the Deputy tonight that his points will be fed into that discussion and we will, crucially, support those businesses.

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