Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I am very aware of the pressures that some small and medium-sized businesses are under, in particular in food hospitality and in certain types of retail. That is why we insisted at budget time that we would set aside more than €250 million to support 143,000 businesses across the country. That is 95% of all rate-paying businesses. They will get a cash injection or grant in the coming weeks to recognise the fact that we hear the pressure that they are under and while we do not want to entirely compensate for the increased cost of doing business, we will certainly make a contribution in recognition of that.

We are looking at other policy initiatives that we can adopt as well for those sectors that have particular pressure points. I hope I will be able to bring some ideas in that regard to the Government in the coming weeks.

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