Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I appreciate the concern from businesses regarding the rising costs they are seeing at the moment and as they deal with the rising cost of doing business. It is important to note that the impact of rising prices is not unique to Ireland, but an issue facing all major economies around the world.

The Government has advanced a range of measures to improve working conditions in Ireland, including the transition to a Living Wage, Auto-Enrolment Retirement Savings, Parent’s Leave and Benefit, Statutory Sick Pay, an Additional Public Holiday, the Living Wage, and Remote Working. These improvements will bring wider societal benefits and will serve to bring Ireland in line with other advanced economies. However, it is recognised that businesses may face rising costs, in particular in the short term. I am continuing to monitor this situation with a view to identifying measures which may support businesses in this transition.

The Government has provided significant support to business throughout the period of increasing costs and has been proactive in limiting the fallout from higher rates of inflation in input costs and prices.

Budget 2024 contained several measures which will support businesses facing increased costs. For example:

• The 9% VAT reduction for gas and electricity was extended for an additional 12 months, until the 31^st of October 2024;
• The temporary excise rate reductions applying to auto diesel, petrol and marked gas oil were extended until the 31^st of March 2024; and,
• There was an increase in VAT registration thresholds for SMEs to €40,000 for services and €80,000 for goods.

The Increased Cost of Business Scheme (ICOB) was also announced as part of Budget 2024 and will provide a grant to benefit a significant number of small and medium businesses at a cost of €257 million. The grant will be at a rate of half an enterprise’s commercial rates bill, for 2023, for firms paying up to €10,000 in rates. A flat €5,000 grant will be available to firms who pay between €10,000 and €30,000 in rates.

The ICOB Grant will be available to up to 143,000 businesses, or 95% of all commercially trading business, operating from a rateable businesses in all corners of Ireland. The administration of the ICOB will be carried out by Local Authorities and it is intended that the grant will be provided to qualifying premises in the first quarter of this year. The grant scheme has been set up in the way so as to ensure that the scheme is accessible to smaller businesses, who may have had difficulties availing of previous schemes.

My Department, in collaboration with the Department of Social Protection, assessed the cumulative impact of changes to working conditions, including Auto-Enrolment Retirement Savings Scheme, Parent’s Leave and Benefit, Statutory Sick Pay, the Additional Public Holiday, the Living Wage, and Remote Working. This report was published on the 5^th March alongside a suite of measures including making available up to €15 million to Local Enterprise Offices to enable a top up payment of up to €3,000 in the Energy Efficiency Grant for businesses in the hospitality and retail sectors bringing the grant up to €8,000; preparation of an options paper on the application of the lower 8.8% rate of Employer PRSI contribution; a range of measures to reduce red tape and the administrative burden on business, including: an enhanced SME Test; accelerating the roll out of a fully functioning National Enterprise Hub with staff available to provide immediate advice and support to vulnerable firms.

With respect to the Low Pay Commission, the Commission was established in 2015 through the National Minimum Wage (Low Pay Commission) Act 2015. That Act prescribes the composition of the Low Pay Commission as follows:

• The Commission comprises eight members and an independent Chairperson:
• Three are members who have an understanding of the interests of employers, particularly small to medium-sized employers and those operating in traditionally low pay sectors, and who possess a good knowledge and understanding of the particular issues faced by Irish businesses, particularly in relation to labour costs, and competitiveness.
• Three are members who have an understanding of the interests of employees, particularly the impact of living on the minimum wage and the sectors where low pay and minimum wage workers are concentrated.
• Two members are academics who have particular knowledge or expertise in relation to economics, labour market economics, statistics, and employment law, as well as proven competence in analysing and evaluating economic research and statistics.

Appointments are made to the Low Pay Commission following an open recruitment process managed by the Public Appointments Service.

The Labour-Employer Economic Forum (LEEF) Plenary is led by the Department of the Taoiseach. The Department of the Taoiseach sets the agenda for the plenary meeting, which is attended at Ministerial level with representatives from employer and employee organisations. The Taoiseach chairs the LEEF plenary.

This Government has adopted an active approach in supporting Irish businesses across multiple crises over the last number of years, including the introduction of unemployment supports during the COVID -19 pandemic, the provision of financial supports to firms facing the implications of Brexit, and more recently, through the period of increasing overhead costs. My Department is fully committed to serving the SME sector and the measures included in Budget 2024 reflect this.