Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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155. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the degree to which any evaluation has taken place on foot of price increases that put in the economy and jobs in jeopardy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45380/22]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The top competitiveness challenge facing enterprise today is the high inflation environment and rising input prices. Many small and medium businesses around the country are seeing their margins squeezed by the rising costs of doing business, and in particular the significant increases in energy costs. The Wholesale Price Index for energy products rose by almost 78 per cent in the year to July 2022, and this spike is becoming apparent in the costs of energy intensive businesses. This is not unique to Ireland and is an issue facing all major economies around the world.

Analysis from my Department suggests that 120,000 people are directly employed in gas-intensive manufacturing sectors, with a further 275,000 employed in oil-intensive sectors. That is where gas or oil is used to meet 40 per cent, or more, of that sector’s energy requirement. Exposure to electricity price increases is more broad-based across all economic sectors. As wholesale gas prices drive changes in electricity costs to a significant degree, there is a wider range of sectors with an indirect exposure to changes in gas prices.

While it is useful to consider the numbers employed and the energy intensity of the economic sectors to gain a broad understanding of sectoral exposure to energy, it would be incorrect to imply that all jobs in energy intense sectors are at risk. Any potential employment impacts would depend on decisions taken at the firm level and are, therefore, very difficult to predict given the individual nature of each firm’s cost base.

Ireland imports over 70 per cent of our energy needs and the Government cannot fully insulate businesses from price developments in international energy markets that are mostly outside of our control. However, measures have included a reduction in the rate of VAT on gas and electricity from 13.5 per cent to 9 per cent until the 31st of October; and a temporary reduction in the excise duties charged, by 20 cent per litre of petrol, 15 cent per litre of diesel, and 2 cent in the excise duty charged on marked gas oil. Measures are also being actively explored at a European level to tackle the costs of energy to households and business, while further actions are being considered for introduction under Budget 2023.

My Department continues to engage with other Departments and Agencies to identify the scale and impact of energy price increases on firms, including small and medium enterprises. Measures are also being actively explored at a European level to tackle the costs of energy to business, while further actions are being considered for introduction under Budget 2023.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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156. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the action that can be taken to ensure that multiple price increases leading to severe costs of living issues are in any way challenged as to their reasons for such increases; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45381/22]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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In relation to the remit of my Department which includes responsibility for competition and consumer rights law, the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) is the independent statutory body responsible for promoting compliance with, and enforcing, competition and consumer protection law in Ireland.

In relation to the CCPC’s mandate in this area, their role is to ensure that prices are set independently by competing businesses, and those prices are then prominently displayed at the point of sale thereby enabling consumers to make informed choices about which supplier offers the best value. The CCPC do not tell businesses what prices to charge. Generally, traders in Ireland are free to set and change their prices for goods and services. Lower prices play a key role in attracting consumers, and traders compete to keep their prices low enough to attract consumers.

When the CCPC receive complaints on pricing, they assess them to see if they indicate a possible breach of one of the areas of competition or consumer protection law that the CCPC is tasked with enforcing. They take action on their own initiative when they suspect there may have been a breach. However, they cannot investigate behaviour which a consumer regards as unfair unless the behaviour may breach the law.

In a market economy like ours, businesses are free to set prices in line with market conditions, provided they are not in a dominant position in the market, and provided they do this without colluding with competitors. Excessive pricing may be illegal if a business is in a dominant position, where it faces little competition, and its customers have little bargaining power. When a business is dominant, it is not allowed to abuse its position. Businesses and their pricing decisions are constrained by the need to compete rather than by any legal obligation.

It is illegal for competing businesses to form a cartel - that is, an agreement to fix prices - or to agree a common pricing policy or to carve up a market in order that they do not have to compete. It is also illegal for businesses to share information about their future pricing intentions. Wholesalers may not dictate the retail prices charged for their products by independent retailers. As long as businesses do not collude, however, they are free to set their own prices and may observe their competitors' prices and adjust their own prices accordingly.

When the CCPC receives complaints about pricing it assesses them to see if they indicate a possible breach of competition or consumer protection law. The CCPC can take enforcement action if an investigation uncovers sufficient evidence of a breach. The nature of enforcement action depends on the type of the breach and the nature of the evidence but can include referral to the Director of Public Prosecutions for a criminal prosecution.

Certain sectors due to their nature and their systemic importance (for example, energy) are regulated by specific sectoral regulators who can influence the pricing decisions of providers in that regulated sector.

Turning to my Department's remit, we have been to the fore in updating and expanding our laws on consumer rights and competition.

The Competition (Amendment) Act 2022 gives our competition authorities the necessary powers to crack down on rogue operators that are found to be breaching competition law. Cartels, where they exist, will be broken up and companies abusing a dominant position can be suitably punished with heavy fines of up to 10% of global turnover. These new powers will act as a big disincentive for those taking part in anti-competitive practices, which drive up costs, freeze out start-ups and smaller businesses and lead to bad quality products and poor services.

The Consumer Rights Bill 2022, which will enter the Seanad shortly, is the largest reform of consumer rights legislation in 40 years. The new law consolidates and modernises consumer law and gives consumers new protections.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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157. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the degree to which enterprise and trade in general is challenged by numerous price increases by various suppliers of goods and services; if such issues can in any way be alleviated to ensure the safeguarding of small and medium enterprises; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45382/22]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The top competitiveness challenge facing enterprise today is the high inflation environment and rising input prices. Many small and medium businesses around the country are seeing their margins squeezed by the rising costs of doing business, and in particular the significant increases in energy costs. The Wholesale Price Index for energy products rose by almost 78 per cent in the year to July 2022, and this spike is becoming apparent in the costs of energy intensive businesses. This is not unique to Ireland and is an issue facing all major economies around the world.

Ireland imports over 70 per cent of our energy needs and the Government cannot fully insulate businesses from price developments in international energy markets that are mostly outside of our control. The Government is very aware of the economic challenge of escalating energy prices and has put in place measures to assist businesses, including small and medium enterprises. Measures have included a reduction in the rate of VAT on gas and electricity from 13.5 per cent to 9 per cent until the 31st of October; and a temporary reduction in the excise duties charged, by 20 cent per litre of petrol, 15 cent per litre of diesel, and 2 cent in the excise duty charged on marked gas oil. Measures are also being actively explored at a European level to tackle the costs of energy to business, while further actions are being considered for introduction under Budget 2023.

In the short term, we are constrained in how quickly we can shift our energy consumption patterns. Government has introduced a suite of measures which are aimed improving energy efficiency of firms and reducing reliance on fossil fuels such as the €25 million in funding under the Climate Planning Fund for Business, and €30 million under the Enterprise Emissions Reduction Investment Fund as well as a range of grants available from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland.

In the longer term, this energy shock will require a deep structural adjustment, which will have to take place at the same time as the green and digital transitions.

The Government will keep the energy situation under close and active review and will continue to examine what measures are possible to manage the impact of rising prices for enterprises.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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158. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the degree to which retail and other trades, affected by recent multiple price increases such as energy-related costs and insurance, can be protected over the next twelve months; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45383/22]

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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The Government worked hard with the business community in Ireland on the difficulties they faced in trading over the last few years - especially with supports made available related to Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions they faced. We will continue to work with and support businesses, including those in the retail sector, as they look to get through the next challenges they face, especially with the increased cost of living and in particular the energy costs they face.

The Government has already implemented measures to help ease the impact on enterprises of rising energy costs, such as the temporary reduction in the excise duties charged, by 20 cent per litre of petrol, 15 cent per litre of diesel, and 2 cent in the excise duty charged on marked gas oil.

There are over 20 other government grants, vouchers and training supports available to help enterprises reduce their energy bills by reducing their use and becoming more energy efficient. Details of these are available on gov.ie and are communicated with the retail sector through the Retail Forum which I chair.

Government are committed to helping protect viable businesses and are very conscious that we need to do more to assist our local businesses. We need a mix of broad based measures that will help all business and we also need targeted interventions for those most impacted.

My Department is working with the European Commission to allow us to grant state aid to certain businesses to help them with additional costs (both liquidity and energy costs) due to the Russian war on Ukraine. This is under the Ukraine Temporary Crisis Framework introduced by the European Commission earlier this year. Some of these interventions will be targeted at those firms that trade internationally or are impacted by global trade but we will also put in place a more broad based loan scheme which will be open to most other business in Ireland.

The Emergency Response Credit Guarantee Scheme will be a loan guarantee scheme similar to the Covid-19 Credit Guarantee Scheme. This loan scheme would be open to small and medium enterprises, primary producers and small mid-caps, whose costs have been affected by the Ukraine crisis. Once details have been agreed, Ireland will submit this scheme for approval by the Commission. Assuming all approvals are granted, I would hope this scheme would be available by year end.

Under the Covid-19 Credit Guarantee Scheme, 1,652 businesses in Wholesale and Retail Trade; Retail of Motors Vehicles and Motorcycles received loans to the total value of €127,520,239, which equated to 18.08% of the overall total loan value issued under the scheme. Please see attached table for further sectoral uptake of this scheme.

With regard to insurance, the Tánaiste chaired a meeting of the Subgroup on Insurance Reform in July 2022 to consider progress on implementation of the Action Plan for Insurance Reform. Approximately 80% of actions in the Plan are now being delivered. While progress on these actions is welcome, Government is committed to doing more to reduce insurance costs. We are confident that through the implementation of the actions set out in the Action Plan we are delivering meaningful reform of the insurance market and creating the conditions for the provision of affordable insurance for consumers and business.

The Government is acutely aware that we need to do more to help business particularly over coming months but also into next year as energy prices escalate and the cost of living increases. This will be central to our budget discussions and new measures will be announced on Budget Day. My officials are working with officials in the Departments of Public Expenditure and Reform, Finance and Environment, Climate and Communications and other relevant departments to develop proposals to assist all business. A priority is to deliver that assistance as effectively and efficiently as possible.