Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for accepting this issue for debate and I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Neale Richmond, for coming to the House.

We are all very aware of high-profile closures in the past number of weeks. I will focus on one in my constituency and a communication I received from another business in my constituency. The Corner House Bistro was a hugely popular restaurant in Athlone. The owners, Linda and Joe Connolly, decided to close it doors a couple of weeks ago with the loss of jobs for 20 staff. The owner of the Wholesome Kitchen in Mullingar, a restaurant in my constituency, wrote to me earlier in the week stating:

I'm writing to you in relation to the new measures that have been and are being introduced which massively increase operating costs for small businesses ... I'm incredibly worried that a lot of businesses will not be able to sustain such high costs, with too much introduced all at once ... We employ a total of 40 people locally, we're very lucky that WK is a successful and profitable business, however it cannot absorb these costs.

The writer goes on to outline what these additional costs will be: a VAT rate increase will contribute a cost of €82,500 per annum; payroll due to minimum wage increase and work permit increases will be €47,300 per annum; sick pay benefits €11,400 per annum; auto-enrolment pension payments are €12,800 per annum; and extra public holiday pay will be €3,200 per annum. Food and packaging costs continue to increase and energy costs are still massively inflated. That is the situation for the Wholesome Kitchen, and I have the owner's permission to raise it on the floor of the Dáil this evening.

I have spoken with industry representatives. They say that only downward communication comes from the Department and that the Department only seems to be engaged when it reaches crisis point. We have been promised a report by the Minister of State's Department on the cumulative impact of labour costs but it is yet to be published. Is there a recognition that changes in Government policy to sick pay, minimum wage, and pension auto-enrolment are contributing to the increases? All of these are important and need to be done but do they need to be done all at once?

The energy grant has been discontinued, despite the fact that energy costs are still much higher now than a number of years ago. There is also the VAT increase. I could understand this in regard to accommodation but not so much in regard to food. Businesses are facing a huge issue on 1 May when they must restructure or signify how they will pay their debt warehousing. I welcome the commitment by the Minister for Finance, Deputy McGrath, earlier this week that there will be flexibility in this regard and changes. I ask that this flexibility and the proposed changes are published without delay because these business need certainty. They are making decisions on what they are going to do and how they are to survive over the next number of months. The Minister of State has met the Restaurants Association of Ireland, RAI, which I welcome. It has published a five-point plan. To its credit, the Government announced a business support scheme in the budget in October but that was October and we are now halfway through January and still waiting full details of that. Businesses are still waiting to receive that grant.

I hope that in his reply the Minister of State will outline how the Government will publish those grants and when businesses can receive them. Will he consider a VAT reduction, particularly for the food side of the hospitality sector?

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