Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)
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Question 54: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if her attention has been drawn to the significant number of closures of retail outlets and the consequent heavy job losses in this sector; if her further attention has been drawn to the problems created for many retail outlets by high levels of rent and the refusal of landlords to reduce rates to take account of the current economic climate; the steps she will take to address this problem; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11364/10]

Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)
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Question 76: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the measures she has introduced to ensure that viable small and medium sized enterprises are not put out of business by inflexible rents; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11429/10]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 82: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the steps she has taken or intends to take to improve the competitiveness of the economy at retail level with particular reference to the need to ensure that opportunities at this level are at least on par with those in adjoining jurisdictions; the extent to which the various economic factors appertaining here are comparable to those in adjoining areas; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11408/10]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 54, 76 and 82 together.

My colleague, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform has set up a new Working Group to look at the issue of commercial rent reviews last week and my Department is represented on this new Group. The Group will be asked to focus particularly on the arbitration process and the adequacy of the information available to all parties in the context of commercial rent reviews. Minister Ahern has already banned "upward-only" rent reviews in new leases, which took effect this month. The new Group will bring all the relevant parties together to see how we can deal further with other aspects of concern in existing leases.

In relation to more general measures to support jobs and growth in the economy, Budget 2010 included a number of pro-business, pro-jobs and pro-enterprise measures, including a car scrappage scheme, the extension of the tax exemption for start-up companies, an improved R&D tax credit to 25%, tax treatment of certain dividends, withholding tax on royalty income, improvements to the Remittance Scheme, and measures to improve the Tax offering on internationally traded services. With specific reference to the retail sector, Budget 2010 also reduced the rate of VAT from 21.5% to 21%.