Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I recently met with a group of small business owners, mostly restaurateurs, based in my own constituency in south inner-city Dublin and in surrounding areas. They outlined to me the many challenges facing their sector and their concerns about potential closures, job losses and the loss of vibrancy in Dublin city centre and other urban city centres if the challenges for small businesses, particularly in hospitality, are not addressed by the Government. I was glad to have the Minister's engagement on some of the issues in respect of the warehoused tax repayment plan and I welcomed his announcement of flexibility from Revenue this week. That is welcome. However, he has acknowledged that key issues remain, particularly with regard to the availability of staff and labour. Will he therefore consider amending the stamp 2 visa scheme to enable people to seek greater levels of employment in the sector? Has the Government conducted any assessment of the affordability of the work permit scheme for smaller enterprises? These are some of the really serious issues raised with me by small businesses in the hospitality sector. I acknowledge the immense contribution these businesses make to the vibrancy of our urban centres.

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