Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 23 May 2024
59. Deputy James O'Connor asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment when the payments for the increased cost of business grants will be paid to businesses in Cork; the number of businesses that have and have not applied for the grant; how many of those businesses are in the hospitality sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23311/24]
View answerI thank the Ministers for being here. I congratulate them on their new roles. I thank especially the Minister of State, Deputy Calleary, for remaining in his current role.
I ask this question around the increased cost of business, ICOB, grants which were made available, about their uptake, particularly in the area of County Cork, and if this information can be provided to the House, please?
I thank Deputy O'Connor for his very important question. On 15 May, I and my Government colleagues announced a substantial range of measures to reduce costs for small and medium-sized businesses. Included in these measures was the reopening of the ICOB portal from 15 May to 29 May to allow rate-paying business owners who have not registered to do so. We have received feedback that the process of registering is simple and quick. I urge those business owners who have not applied to do so now and as soon as possible. As part of reopening of the ICOB scheme and in light of the great impact the increased costs are having on the hospitality and retail sectors, as noted in the joint report produced by our Department and the Department of Social Protection, namely An Assessment of the Cumulative Impact of Proposed Measures to Improve Working Conditions in Ireland, it has been agreed that business operating in these sectors will receive a second payment for approved businesses or a double payment for new registrations.
As the Deputy is aware, local authorities are administering the ICOB scheme on behalf of our Department and have started to pay out grants to eligible businesses. As of yesterday evening, 1,793 businesses in Cork city and county have received €4.62 million. In Cork City Council, of the 9,333 potentially eligible businesses, 3,913 businesses registered for the scheme representing 4,231 properties. Of those that have registered, 578 are in the hospitality sector, representing 628 businesses. In Cork County Council, of the 6,404 potentially eligible businesses, 4,849 businesses registered for the scheme representing 5,248 properties. Of those that have registered, 568 are in the hospitality sector, representing 595 businesses.
I thank the Minister for that information. These, along with other measures, are extremely welcome. The costs on businesses are of great significance. When it comes to energy prices, that is something which needs to be urgently tackled because we are out of sync with the rest of Europe when it comes to the cost of energy per unit price. When one also looks at the profits which are being made within those utility firms, this is something which needs to be taken up by the consumer protection agencies we have here.
Could I just get some subsequent information on how much money is being paid out in County Cork? I heard of the work which is being done in Cork City Council, but can I get clarification on how much has been paid out? I heard of the number of applications and it is great to see that people are interested in it and taking up this scheme but what was the pay out in County Cork as of today?
I thank the Deputy again for his question. Unfortunately, we are a price taker in the energy market and we have so much to do in that regard. It is good to note the reduction of about 40% in the wholesale cost of energy but that needs to be passed on to businesses and indeed on to the consumer to make us more competitive.
On the Deputy's question in respect of Cork County Council, as I understand, it in the past half an hour €114,000 has been paid out. Another payment run will be happening this week. That is exceptionally low. I spoke with the chairperson of the County and City Management Association, CCMA, finance committee last night and I have written to all local authorities this morning. It is important to note that some local authorities have paid out over 90% and some are trailing.
We need to work hard over the next week to ensure that this money is paid into the bank accounts of businesses. I would welcome the Deputy's support in engaging with Cork County Council to ensure that is the case. I will be doing everything along with the Ministers of State, Deputies Calleary and Higgins, and working hands-on with the chief executives to get this money into the bank accounts of businesses. The critical thing is they have the money. Some 50% of this total allocation has been paid out and is now in the bank accounts of all the local authorities. We need it to be transferred into the bank accounts of the businesses.
Members of Cork County Council are well able to fire a torpedo up here to give out about Oireachtas Members and Ministers when they are not happy but that level of money being paid out is entirely unacceptable. It is not the fault of the Minister or the Department officials when other local authorities seem to be doing this without any concern or issue. It needs to be on the record of the House here that this is not acceptable and needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency. Businesses are closing on main streets all over Cork county. The impact that has on the rates income for the council is very significant. There is an urgent need for the financial support that has been put in place by the work of the Department officials and the Ministers of State. The fact that there is such a little amount of money for a county the size of Cork is deeply concerning. That is something that should be taken away from today. I understand that the Minister was doing communications this morning with the council. It is astonishing how little has been paid out to a county of that size, considering the circumstances we find ourselves in, including high energy costs and other issues. It is astonishing that this has been allowed to persist.
I appreciate the figures the Minister has outlined to us and I want to recognise the work of Minister of State, Deputy Calleary, in keeping our own parliamentary party informed every week and trying to get us to encourage businesses to apply for it in the first place. As the Minister has laid out with the figures, the disparity between Cork county and Cork city has flummoxed me over the last couple of weeks. Businesses in Cork county have applied at a relatively high level, albeit there is an issue, as has just been discussed in relation to the actual payout. On the other hand, the number of businesses applying for it in Cork city is much lower. Are there any further plans to advertise the scheme? Is it worthwhile for local authorities to contact businesses again directly? I am not quite sure what else they can do at this point. I ask the Minister to outline any further plans for getting that scheme out among people.
What kind of turnaround time does the Department envisage? If a good proportion of that money is with local authorities what is the typical turnaround? Is it a two-, three- or four-week turnaround or what was initially envisaged?
I have spoken about this issue several times here in the Chamber. The grant has been extended for two weeks. My understanding is that the deadline is now Wednesday, 29 May, but there is huge confusion about this. Sorry, I will wait until the Minister has finished speaking to the Minister of State.
It is okay, I can multitask.
That is good. This is really important and I have been on about this grant for the last few weeks. The deadline is next week, 29 May. It needs to be extended more. I see the Minister of State shake her head but the uptake in Carlow is not good. I know this because I have been speaking with all the businesses. I contacted the Chamber of Commerce and some businesses myself because of the uptake. I feel we need to do more. The worrying thing for the Department is why the uptake is so low in most areas. Carlow County Council has written to the businesses. What do we need to do? We need to give them some more time. The money that the businesses need is there. It is our duty of care to make sure the businesses get it.
I thank all the Deputies for their contributions. I agree with Deputy O'Connor. Cork County Council is the largest local authority in the country and it has the money. We do need to see action now and I will be demanding it over the next few days. As I said, I spoke with the head of the CCMA finance committee. I have written to all chief executives this morning on foot of the change last week. In the coming days, I will be working to ensure that this is paid out. There should not be a timelag. It is very simple, it is not a complicated scheme and they have the finance. It is a matter of putting resources on it and getting the money deployed into the bank accounts of businesses.
Regarding extending the payment, well in excess of 70% of businesses have registered in many counties. We have another week so it is important that we also do our job and get the message out there that this application can be done in two minutes on a phone. It is very easy to do. We are putting all the resources behind it and we will be doing another round of advertising in the last week on rural and provincial radio stations and going through the national media, trying to highlight that the scheme is ready and open for business. I appeal to businesses to register. The Government is putting a quarter of a billion euro on the table to try to assist with the increased cost of business. We want businesses to get that money and will be ensuring that local authorities do their bit as part of the jigsaw. We do value their work. I know we get frustrated by local authorities at times, but I want to work with them. We are working together to get this money into the bank accounts of businesses. It is there to support them.
