Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We all know commercial arrangements in how businesses operate with their landlords are different from business to business. It is difficult to put conditions in place to assess every single one. The best metric I have at the moment to get money out to vulnerable businesses as quickly as possible is linked directly to their rates. If I put more conditions in place right now or try to pave the way for opening the scheme to wider priorities, it will be difficult to get the money out quickly. I will assess it when the scheme concludes. Businesses benefit from a number of the other measures we have brought in, such as the accelerated grant for capital expenditure and the changes to PRSI and Microfinance Ireland. There have been a number of changes that benefit them.

The critical point is that this scheme is not a year old. People need to realise that after a measure is announced in the budget, legislation is needed, it has to be designed and it takes time for a scheme to be operational. We have been clear with businesses. We are marketing strongly now and asking them to please register for the scheme. It is a key cash injection into their bank accounts to recognise there are increased costs to doing business. We will continue to support businesses in the next budget, which will be important to demonstrate clearly that we are listening to the SME sector and we value the employment they provide which accounts for 70% of all jobs.

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