16. Deputy Tony McCormack asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the additional supports being provided to SMEs to address rising costs and staffing challenges; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33029/25]

Sentiment score: 0.15

I thank the Minister and compliment his Department for all its hard work. We are in an economy with full employment. That does not happen by chance. I refer to all the work that has been done in the past and needs to be done in the future. We are in uncertain times. We are looking at tariffs. We are working with our European partners to negotiate tariffs with the United States. Now, more than ever, we need to be supporting our smaller businesses. I welcome the supports mentioned, but many small businesses in County Offaly and across the country are still not sure how to access them or whether they even qualify for them. I have spoken with business owners who are unaware that certain schemes exist in the first place, and that is a real gap. Will the Minister look at simplifying the application process and at rolling out a strong national and local awareness campaign through the local enterprise office, chambers of commerce and media? We need to meet these businesses where they are, and not just on the websites. Will the Minister also provide figures on how many businesses nationwide and in Offaly have made use of the wage subsidy scheme and upskilling programmes like Skillnet or others under the national training fund? I want to ask about commercial rates. Small businesses in towns are still under major pressure from inflation, energy bills and wage demands. Will the rates relief continue into next year? They need certainty now.

Sentiment score: 0.17

I now turn to the issue of high-street retail, which is in serious decline. In towns like Tullamore, Birr, Edenderry and similar towns all over Ireland, we see more and more shops closing. Footfall is down, rent and staffing costs are up and the result is that once thriving town centres are slowly emptying out. This is visible, urgent and deeply worrying. The reality is that this cannot be solved by one scheme or Department alone. We need a national joined-up plan that looks at how to bring life back to our high streets. That includes cross-departmental action, enterprise, housing, local government and finance. We need real incentives for retail on the high street, not just to keep existing shops afloat, but to make it attractive for new retail businesses to open. That could mean help with start-up costs, targeted grants for fitting out vacant units, supports for marketing, rent, or even pop-up retail pilots in empty spaces. What plans does the Department have to support and revive high street retail? Will the Minister work with his Cabinet colleagues to make this a priority in government?

Sentiment score: 0.13