Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

28. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the actions undertaken following the recent meeting of the retail consultation forum; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29938/14]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

This year’s Action Plan for Jobs includes a number of measures to support the Retail sector. These measures include the establishment of a Retail Consultation Forum to provide a platform for a structured engagement between the Retail sector and relevant Government Departments and agencies. Its purpose is to allow key issues of relevance to the retail sector to be discussed, with a view to identifying practical actions which could be taken by Government, or by industry itself, to support the sector.

The first meeting of the Retail Consultation Forum took place on 9th June last. It is chaired at Assistant Secretary level by my Department. The membership includes the key representative bodies for the retail sector, as well as practitioners from different sub-sectors within retail. Key Government Departments and bodies are also represented on the Forum, but the emphasis is on giving a voice to the retail members who form the majority of the membership.

The Forum will consider issues of relevance to the retail sector on a thematic basis. The focus of the first meeting was on potential items for consideration in the context of Budget 2015 which might assist the recovery of the sector. There was a good exchange of ideas on this topic at the meeting and a number of the Forum members subsequently submitted further details to my Department in support of suggestions made at the meeting. The proposals made by the retail representatives on the Forum are currently being collated by my Department with a view to channelling those suggestions into the Budgetary process and the Action Plan for Jobs 2015 for consideration.

The Retail Consultation Forum will meet again in September and account will be taken of the suggestions made by the members in setting the thematic topic for discussion.