Albert Dolan (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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6. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the action he is taking to simplify business regulation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51027/25]

Albert Dolan (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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Red tape is a huge issue for small businesses. When I am out meeting business people, one thing that comes up consistently is red tape. What is the Minister of State doing to cut through red tape and simplify business regulation?

Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for his really important question. This is something we all hear about regularly in our constituency offices. The action plan on competitiveness and productivity - a commitment in the programme for Government - recently published by the Minister, Deputy Burke, is a whole-of-government strategic response to the challenges that Ireland is facing. A key focus of the action plan is improving Ireland’s regulatory environment under the theme "Regulating for Growth and Controlling Costs". Measures under this theme include introducing a red tape challenge across Government to reduce regulation for SMEs, undertaking a public consultation to identify areas of high burden and all Government Departments applying the SME test to all measures, and in particular to policy initiatives where it is proposed to increase costs on small business.

In terms of my Department, there is an ongoing commitment to ensuring the regulatory environment is proportionate and fit for purpose. This includes the conduct of regulatory impact analysis and the systematic application of the SME test, which has been designed to invite consideration of less stringent compliance requirements for smaller companies, where appropriate and proportionate. My Department has also established a small business unit which has been tasked with ensuring that the needs and issues of small businesses have a dedicated focus and are recognised and acknowledged across Government.

In terms of legislative change, the Companies Act 2014 was updated through the Companies (Corporate Governance, Enforcement and Regulatory Provisions) Act 2024, which introduced a range of practical reforms consistent with ensuring that Ireland's regulatory framework provides flexibility and is fit for modern business operating in an increasingly digital and virtual environment. Work is ongoing to modernise and reform a range of other legislation, including the co-operative societies Bill and legislation relating to limited partnerships and business names. The foregoing complements work ongoing at EU level, where there is a particular focus on simplification. This is what this all boils down to - simplification. I know the Minister has been a huge champion of the simpler, faster and lighter approach in terms of bureaucracy for small businesses.

Albert Dolan (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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Go maith agat. I really welcome all that is being done in the Department to try to simplify business regulation.

From my dealings with the Department, that is definitely the thinking. It wants to make life better for businesses. It wants to make Ireland a better place to operate a business. To reiterate how important this point is, the IBEC CEO Survey 2025 ranks sensible regulation as the third most important issue that CEOs across our country face. As Fianna Fáil spokesperson on enterprise, I want to make sure that we continue with that train of thought. SMEs suffer the brunt of overregulation. They do not have the scale and capacity to subsume a lot of the burden. What will be done for the SMEs to ensure that they will have smoother operations, that they can deal with State agencies better and, ultimately, have greater longevity.

Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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The red-tape challenge will be introduced across Government to significantly reduce regulation for SMEs, because we have to get the balance right. I am glad the Deputy stated that regulation is the third most important issue. Companies and CEOs recognise the importance of regulation without killing businesses with additional burdens. The red-tape challenge will include a review by each Department to identify regulations to be removed or reduced without impacting on policy objectives, and a public consultation to identify areas of high burden or where burden reduction could be launched is a focus of the Government.

The overarching objective of the action plan to which I referred is to maintain and improve Ireland's position as a competitive and productive economy capable of withstanding shocks, building on our strengths and developing the indigenous enterprise base while continuing to attract investment and talent from abroad. The action plan contains 85 actions for enhancing Ireland's competitive and productivity performance, with 26 of these identified as priority actions. I hope that provides some detail for the Deputy.

Albert Dolan (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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Part of what will make our business environment better to do business in is something that falls within the Minister of State's brief, namely digitisation. Ultimately, the question the Department needs to be asking is whether every grant application, licence permit, etc., can be processed by it digitally? It is important for every Department to look at this because if somebody cannot easily deal with a Department in person, they will still be able to deal with an official online if they encounter any difficulties. That is the way to think about it.

I have read many times about Estonia's digital-first policy and how innovative it is. The reality is that Ireland is home to the biggest tech companies in the world. The Government need to show both leadership and that we want to be a digital-first nation. Of course, we want to make sure that nobody gets left behind. We need to show leadership, however, because when all of these companies are investing in Ireland, they want to see that we are tech-minded, that we are tech leaders and that we want to see success for their businesses and this country.

Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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I agree wholeheartedly with what the Deputy said in terms of digitalisation, and that is not to take away from Deputy Conway-Walsh's point that there are businesses which will struggle with that. That is why the Department launched the digital charter, which is a call to action for bigger companies that are digitally proficient to buddy up with smaller businesses across the country to help them get on the digitalisation train. AI will be transformative and will bring us to a new level. I am looking forward over the coming weeks and months to us planning the AI summit, which will be part of Ireland's EU Presidency. In all of that, we need huge co-operation from the bigger companies to assist smaller companies where possible. They are willing to work with the Department and have been doing so up to this point.