Joe Neville (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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38. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment while welcoming both the VAT 9% rate and the auto enrolment scheme, the supports his Department has in place for businesses that are not in a position to benefit from the reduction to VAT 9%, and have increased costs under the new auto enrolment scheme and increased minimum wage; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62254/25]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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The Government recognises that the cost of doing business has been an issue for firms in recent years, arising from both the wider inflationary trends and Government mandated changes in the form of improvements to working conditions across a range of areas. It is important to note that costs for firms, as measured through the CSO’s Wholesale Price Index, are declining, and are down 2.6% in the 12 months to September 2025.

Most recently the Government has taken action to address business costs through the publication of the Action Plan on Competitiveness and Productivity, and the convening of the Cost of Business Advisory Forum, which are both commitments in the Programme for Government.

The focus of the Action Plan is on actions that can be taken to strengthen Ireland’s competitiveness and productivity which in turn will lead to improvements in our economic performance. A core theme of the plan is ‘Regulating for Growth and Controlling Costs’, with 18 actions – including five priority actions – focused on addressing this issue. Key actions areas include Better Regulation which will decrease regulatory burden for business, addressing Ireland’s high legal costs, and improving competition in our markets.

The establishment of the Cost of Business Advisory Forum delivers on the commitment regarding supports for Small Business, Enterprise and Industries. The first meeting of the Forum took place on the 11th of June with representatives in attendance from across Ireland’s enterprise sector (including the SMEs) and joined by officials from a variety of State Agencies, Regulators, and Government Departments.

The Forum is tripartite collaboration bringing together a broad section representative bodies spanning multiple sectors as well as the multinational corporations. The purpose is to jointly consider those issues that can lead to higher costs for businesses in Ireland, any associated regulatory or infrastructural issues that merit a changed approach, and those steps that could be taken to mitigate these issues. The Forum is scheduled to report to Government in Q1 2026.

As part of Budget 2026, the Government agreed to increase the National Minimum Wage which will bring the minimum wage to €14.15 per hour (from 1st January next year). The Government is committed to ensuring a balance between a fair and sustainable rate for low paid workers, and one that will not have significant negative consequences for employers and competitiveness. As part of measures designed to bolster business resilience and support competitiveness, Government agreed to extend the timeline for the introduction of the Living Wage to 2029. The Government also agreed to defer a decision on sub-minimum youth rates of the National Minimum Wage until 2029 and to cease the further roll-out of Statutory Sick Leave at the current five days.

Budget 2026 has also provided an overall package of €9.4bn – €8.1bn has been provided for public spending and €1.3bn for new tax measures. Measures aimed specifically at developing enterprise and supporting SMEs - including changes to the CGT regime - account for c.€531m of the cost of the Budget Package, or 40 per cent of the tax package. The full year cost of enterprise measures will be c. €1.1bn.

Budget 2026 is a pro-enterprise Budget that has been framed in consideration of the Action Plan on Competitiveness and Productivity and the Programme for Government 2025.