Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

There is lots there. The Minister, Deputy Burke, is conducting a consultation exercise on how the new sick pay changes are working. He is engaging with employers directly in that space to get their feedback. That will feed into future decisions with regard to sick pay.

On retail, I absolutely agree with the Deputy. Retailers are the backbone of our economy. They sustain not just employment but also town-centre living and local clubs. We are trying to work with retailers with regard to supports to take on the digital challenge they face. We all know that is one of the biggest challenges facing retail. We need to give retailers a chance to take that on. I have some really good examples. I encourage the Deputy to go to GrowDigital.gov.ie to see the examples of retailers that are using that digital space. We are very much interested in looking at how we can use that vacant space and put supports in to encourage retailers into that vacant space. The Deputy is right on rates. It is a really hard issue.

With regard to Revenue, the Minister, Deputy Chambers and I met with the Ballina Chamber of Commerce just two weeks ago, where this was raised. There is a very difficult attitude, and he is engaging with Revenue on working with small business and understanding where small businesses are at at the moment.

I cannot comment on the ratio but I will look into it and come back to the Deputy.

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