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

I am grateful to the Deputy for raising this important matter and for his consistent advocacy on behalf of businesses throughout Ireland, but particularly in his home town and his home county of Longford.

I empathise with many of the points he has made on behalf of the local business person in Longford. There are a few points to address. The first relates specifically to the increased cost of business, ICOB, scheme. It was a major plank of our Department's budget offering a fortnight ago. The scheme is going to be worth €250 million and will apply to 87% of businesses across the State. It is deliberately targeted at small and medium enterprises. That is why the initial decision was to make the scheme available to every business that paid €20,000 or less in commercial rates this year. It gives them the ability to receive half of their rates back in a cash grant of up to €10,000 in the first quarter of next year, with minimum administration, minimum fuss and cash going direct to the source.

We acknowledge that there are serious costs associated with doing business in this State. That runs parallel to the extremely strong economy we have, with the rapid economic growth that we have seen in Longford and the creation of hundreds of jobs in the last 12 months, much of which is down to the Deputy's own advocacy. It runs parallel to the new businesses created in tandem with the Deputy's local enterprise office, LEO, which I was fortunate enough to visit in August, as well as the consistent work done to make this an open and thriving economy. Businesses are doing well, but we acknowledge the costs. We acknowledge that as the Deputy has outlined, many of those costs are costs that are being brought in by this Oireachtas, such as the increase in the minimum wage as per the recommendations of the low pay commission, the move from three days of paid sick leave to five days on 1 January, the additional bank holiday on St. Brigid's Day and the introduction of pension auto enrolment in 2024. They are all adding to businesses' costs, but there is a return on those investments. I know the Deputy shares my belief that there is always a return on those investments. As we move towards a living wage of 60% of the median average income, it will ensure people stay in those jobs, which are good jobs that they can maintain. We will ensure that they can return resources back into the economy, and with pension auto enrolment, we will ensure that they can prepare for their later days, which present so many difficulties for the State.

That is why the ICOB scheme is just a small effort towards alleviating those costs, as well as rising energy costs and rising interest rates. That is why it is focused on those who pay commercial rates. We are due to see energy costs come down in the next few weeks due to the decline in wholesale prices. We have seen a lot of moves from the major energy providers, although I think we all share the opinion that many of the energy providers could indeed go further.

A number of other supports were brought in for businesses in the budget. I want to refer to them briefly before I conclude and I might go into a bit more substance in the supplementary reply. We provided increased funding of €9 million to the LEOs to help them work with local businesses, and not just new businesses but businesses of up to 50 employees. There is increased funding for Enterprise Ireland and increased resourcing for Microfinance Ireland. We have raised the VAT registration threshold for SMEs to €40,000 for services and €80,000 for goods businesses. The accelerated capital allowance regime for energy-efficient equipment has been extended to 2025. There are new and improved grants available through the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland for businesses that want to reduce their energy bills. Across the board, there is an opportunity for businesses to avail of cheaper finances and grants and to play their part in making sure that we can continue to make this economy grow. The ICOB scheme is just one element in the entire budget that acknowledges the rising costs of business. I think those of us who are present in the House are all in agreement that making sure our economy grows and that we remain an open and attractive economy is what will benefit all businesses in all towns and cities across our State.

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