Tony McCormack (Offaly, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Minister and compliment his Department for all its hard work. We are in an economy with full employment. That does not happen by chance. I refer to all the work that has been done in the past and needs to be done in the future. We are in uncertain times. We are looking at tariffs. We are working with our European partners to negotiate tariffs with the United States. Now, more than ever, we need to be supporting our smaller businesses. I welcome the supports mentioned, but many small businesses in County Offaly and across the country are still not sure how to access them or whether they even qualify for them. I have spoken with business owners who are unaware that certain schemes exist in the first place, and that is a real gap. Will the Minister look at simplifying the application process and at rolling out a strong national and local awareness campaign through the local enterprise office, chambers of commerce and media? We need to meet these businesses where they are, and not just on the websites. Will the Minister also provide figures on how many businesses nationwide and in Offaly have made use of the wage subsidy scheme and upskilling programmes like Skillnet or others under the national training fund?

I want to ask about commercial rates. Small businesses in towns are still under major pressure from inflation, energy bills and wage demands. Will the rates relief continue into next year? They need certainty now.

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