Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

There is an acknowledgment that we have introduced a lot of initiatives in recent years and that the sequencing of them was not properly thought out with respect to costs. It was not done. We have strengthened the SME test. The Cabinet signed off on that this week. It will ensure that far more vision is given to initiatives, and that they are sequenced and streamlined.

As the Deputy knows, auto-enrolment has been postponed for a number of months to give businesses a chance to get more ready for it. We are constantly looking to see how we can assist with regard to costs. We are very frustrated that insurance costs, for instance, have not reduced in line with the work that is being done in our Department to reimagine the insurance landscape in Ireland and across Government. The action plan on insurance has delivered 95% of actions. That is not reflected in insurance costs, and we continue to highlight that.

The power-up grant will be paid before the end of this calendar year. It is a flat grant of €4,000. We absolutely recognise that it does not cover the increase in costs but it does go some way.

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