Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Communities across the country are seeing the closure of restaurants and other small businesses. In Tipperary town, we recently saw two such restaurants closing down. It is worrying that such a situation has been allowed to arise in a town that has been allocated a task force because of its level of deprivation. We have seen similar closures in Carrick-on-Suir and other towns around the country. Small businesses are the backbone of each of our communities. According to the RAI, 280 cafes and restaurants have closed in the last six months alone. That needs to be addressed as soon as possible because the effect of closures in a small community on the area's overall economy and social well-being can be profound. As one business said when announcing its closure recently, "We were not just a cafe and restaurant, we were a community hub".

Businesses tell me of the difficulties they have had in applying for the temporary business energy support scheme. This was a considerable factor in the underspend, which resulted in only 11.5% of the budget being spent. Deputy O'Reilly and Sinn Féin had called for the scheme to be simplified and expanded, which was not done. We hope that the unspent funds would be redistributed among struggling SMEs but, unfortunately, that money was returned to the Exchequer with only a small amount allocated to the increased cost of business scheme. We are aware of the last-minute moves regarding tax warehousing but other measures need to be introduced promptly.

Living wage ambitions and the extension of paid sick days are necessary policies to ensure workers can live decent lives. It is for this reason we have continuously called for the Government to investigate the value of time-limited supports for vulnerable businesses to meet their new obligations on the journey to a living wage.

On the issue of the increase in employers' PRSI, I note that Sinn Féin would put the emphasis on the employers most able to pay using the portion of income in excess of €100,000. We understand that these have had a significant impact on operating costs. Sinn Féin is also a proponent of expanding access to credit with low interest rates and elongated repayment periods to help SMEs through this period.

The hospitality and construction sectors saw a 62% increase in insolvencies last year. That trend cannot be allowed to continue. I appeal to the Minister of State, Deputy Calleary, to consider all approaches available to him and in the interest of cafes, restaurants and all those other small business we need to keep our communities vibrant.

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