Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail)

The Minister of State is welcome to the House. I thank her for being here to respond to the Private Members' motion proposed by my colleague, Senator Crowe, and brought forward by the Fianna Fáil group. I congratulate the Minister of State on her appointment. It is long overdue and well deserved. She has hit the ground running and we are all confident that at the end of her term, she will be able to point to significant success and achievements in her Department. We are all behind her.

That said, our motion is serious for individuals such as Senator Nelson Murray and her family, Senator Crowe and his family and the members of RGDATA. I was nominated by RGDATA to contest the Seanad election. It represents over 3,000 indigenous independent Irish retailers. Those are people who get up in the morning thinking about the product and service they are going to provide, the people they are going to employ, the customers they are going to serve and ensuring that their business activity is viable. They go to bed at night thinking about exactly the same things. For them, it is a way of life. It is not a job or place of employment but their life. It is what they live, breathe and think about. It is important, therefore, that the Government places a high priority on supporting those individuals not just as constituents or citizens but as employers, business creators and service providers.

Over 99% of Irish businesses identify as SMEs. The sector is enormous and intrinsic to the economy and society of the country. It is incredibly important and that is why the Fianna Fáil group has raised it. We want to acknowledge the recognition that this Government has given in its earliest days to the importance of enterprise. We acknowledge the establishment of the various groups by the Government, including the cost of business advisory forum, the small business unit within the Minister of State's Department and the action plan on competition. The Minister for justice has also established the retail crime forum.

As my colleagues have said, the struggle that independent employers and enterprises have are very real and are threatening their viability. They are threatening their ability to continue to trade and to provide services, employment and products. Energy costs have been mentioned as an example of the real challenges. The supply side price increases are a challenge. Senator Nelson Murray clearly articulated that if you are in the food businesses and seeing double-digit percentage increases, it goes to the bottom line and viability of businesses. That is undermining service provision, employment and what is available in each community.Quality employment is critical for enterprise because workers are productive when they feel valued by the employer. They are productive when they feel engaged in a meaningful economic activity and when they get satisfaction from that work. They get satisfaction both in doing the work and in being rewarded for it. It is a fair and reasonable expectation to be properly and adequately rewarded for their contribution. That cost is a significant challenge.

As the Minister of State in this Department, I urge her to work with the officials in her Department and other Departments and across government in this regard. We should also work with other governments because we operate in an open global market. Our SMEs compete both locally in our towns, villages and cities and also increasingly on a European and global basis. Things like the US tariffs that are being threatened bring huge impact and worry. Small enterprises throughout the country, not just in the docklands or in the capital, will be impacted by these potential tariffs. Likewise, European regulations and decisions that are made at a great distance geographically have a direct impact on the viability of small businesses in each of our communities.

I wish the Minister of State well in her role and I urge her to use the powers of her office to effectively support our SMEs not just to survive but truly to thrive and be sustainable into the future.