Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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106. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will provide an update on the work of the retail consultation forum; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44352/14]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I wish to assess from the Minister of State, Deputy Nash where the Retail Consultation Forum is at. I acknowledge the work his predecessor, the former Minister of State, Deputy Perry, did in this area. The retail sector is a forgotten part of Irish business and Irish small and medium enterprises. I do not think there is any sense within Government of the crisis facing the retail sector not only from the economic downtown but also in terms of technology. I want to get a sense from the Minister State where the consultation forum is at and is there any sense of urgency about this sector.

Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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I can assure the Deputy there is a sense of urgency about the position of the retail sector at present and in terms of addressing the serious issues around employment and so on in the sector. As part of this year’s Action Plan for Jobs, we have established the Retail Consultation Forum under the aegis of my Department to provide a platform for a structured engagement between the retail sector and relevant Departments and agencies. Its purpose is to allow key issues of relevance to the sector to be discussed with a view to identifying practical actions which could be taken by the Government or by the industry to support the sector.

The Retail Consultation Forum comprises representatives from the retail sector and from relevant public sector bodies and it comprises not necessarily only the statutory actors in the sector but individual retailers who have displayed excellence in their own areas in recent years. It is chaired by me and the secretariat to the forum is resourced by the Department.

The forum has met on three occasions to date this year, in June under the former Minister of State, Deputy Perry, and the Minister, Deputy Bruton, and in September and early November when it was chaired by myself. We have agreed a broad work programme for the next 12 months. Following the September meeting of the forum, a submission was made to the Departments of Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform outlining proposals for consideration to support the retail sector in budget 2015.

One of the main challenges for the retail sector during the recession was the erosion of consumers’ disposable income. The 2015 budget was the first in many years that will herald an increase in people’s disposable incomes when people consider the tax cuts they will receive in their pay packets at the end of January and rises in social welfare payments in terms of the partial restoration of the Christmas bonus and other measures such as the €5 increase in child benefit. Other budget measures that will have a positive impact on the retail sector include the retention of the 9% VAT rate, the extension of the home renovation incentive to include rental properties, and the additional funding being provided by the Department of Social Protection under the JobsPlus scheme.

The most recent meeting of the forum, on 10 November, centred on identifying potential actions for inclusion in the 2015 Action Plan for Jobs to support the retail sector, including areas where business costs could be addressed. In next year's Action Plan for Jobs we want to focus on the ease of doing business. On the basis of that discussion, my officials are currently drawing up a number of measures with me to support the sector and they will be considered for inclusion in next year’s Action Plan for Jobs.

The Deputy will be aware from having been involved in this that we anxiously await the joint Oireachtas committee's report on town centre shopping. I look forward to working with him on that.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I am glad the Minister of State is anxiously awaiting that report and I hope he will be as anxious to act on it. In fairness to the Minister of State, he contributed a good deal to it.

Every sector of the economy may benefit from the miserly increases given but by the time water charges are paid for there will not be much left.

On the retail sector, how much additional funding was provided in the budget to the trading online scheme to assist retailers in moving their businesses online, which is biggest challenge facing retailers now? I understand it is a Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources allocation but presumably the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation is also involved.

What proposals has the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation made to the Department of Finance around legacy debt? There is a need for a conversation with the Department of Finance about the many retail businesses which while operating well on a day-to-day basis are hamstrung by investments in expansion and the creation of new jobs or are facing closure by the banks because they are unable to service debt which dates back many years. There is no sense of any type of package being put in place to assist such businesses. Has there been any discussion in this regard?

Also, has there been any discussion with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform on its new rates revaluation Bill, which is causing chaos around the country? I would encourage the Minister of State, Deputy Nash, when he next visits Waterford to meet with the retail groups there in regard to what rates revaluation is doing to them. It is destroying those who have invested in their properties.

Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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In regard to Waterford, I am looking forward to visiting the city and county earlier in the New Year with my colleague, Deputy Ciara Conway. During my visits to all areas across the country I will be meeting with retailers. I have a particular interest in trying to support the retail sector given the experience it has had over the past few years. Tomorrow, I will be visiting Carlow and some exemplars in the field of retail to discuss their concerns in regard to how Government and other agencies can support the retail sector.

Some 50,000 jobs were lost in the retail sector between 2008 and 2012. Approximately 10% of our workforce is employed in retail across every town, village and city in this country. I know I speak for every Deputy in this House and for every Member of the Oireachtas when I express concern for the retail sector. Key to supporting retail is ensuring consumers have confidence and adequate disposable income to spend.

In regard to the online trading scheme, the amount of resources available for the scheme this year has been doubled because, as the Deputy will be aware, there is enormous leakage to other markets. I am aware of the Deputy's concern in this matter. We are acting on it.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the doubling of the funding. It is important the message in that regard gets out. Perhaps the LEOs can step up to the mark in this regard. The Minister of State referred earlier to confidence. Many retailers need confidence to enable them trade online. They do not understand the process.

Where are we at on the legacy debt issue, which is a major issue, in particular for retailers who may have expanded their premises or bought new premises during the so-called boom time? There is a great deal of focus on mortgage debt, and rightly so, but SME debt is costing jobs and expansion. Without some real attempt to focus on this, it will be a drag on economic recovery.

Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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The issue of restructuring of debt is one I raise continually with senior banking officials when I have the opportunity to meet with them. As I understand it, Bank of Ireland has restructured 90% of the debt over-hangs to which the Deputy referred, which are obviously not exclusively in the retail sector but across the SME sector. Considerable further work needs to be done. We have travelled some journey over the past year or two in terms of dealing with the issues that can bear a heavy burden on businesses that in terms of their core business are very sustainable but because of property debt difficulties may arise. There is more work to be done.

Later today I will be meeting with senior executives from the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland, SBCI. I am looking forward to ensuring that this institution does step up to the mark and that people are aware that it will shortly be open for business so that retailers can access the various products for which that it will be responsible. I believe this will be a very important dimension in the market.