Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 14 July 2020
100. Deputy Neale Richmond asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the specific measures being considered to protect businesses facing into the Covid-19 recovery, which will affect businesses long after 1 January 2021, and a potential no-trade deal Brexit simultaneously; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16128/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Government has already introduced a €12bn package of supports for firms of all sizes, which includes the wage subsidy scheme, the pandemic unemployment payment for the self-employed, grants, low-cost loans, repayable advances, write-off of commercial rates and deferred tax liabilities, all of which will help to improve cashflow amongst SMEs.
As Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment I am leading on the development of an ambitious range of proposals for the July stimulus to further assist businesses to open and to sustain employment. These proposals, along with others from Ministerial colleagues, will be developed and adjusted further for the Government’s consideration, which will be announced soon.
The range of supports available from my Department and across Government are designed to build confidence, to further assist businesses in terms of the management of their companies and to allow them to begin looking to the future and start charting a path forward for the weeks and months ahead.
There are some welcome signs of improvement in business activity and the economy. However, sectors that employ a lot of people, such as tourism and hospitality, arts and entertainment and other services that rely on social interaction, remain in serious difficulty and their recovery prospects are highly uncertain. While we can’t keep every firm and job alive, I believe our emphasis should still be to preserve these insofar as we can.
The July stimulus package to be announced shortly, will be radical, of scale and far-reaching. In considering the analyses, I see five areas in which we should focus on in helping our enterprises in the future.
1. Income supports for workers
2. Direct grants for businesses
3. Cheaper finance
4. New opportunities for future jobs
5. Support for the hardest hit sectors
The July Stimulus is aimed at helping firms meet the fixed, non-wage costs incurred during lockdown and in re-opening. Our current Restart Grant is a significant help but it could be improved to widen and deepen the impact for businesses that are reopening and taking back employees. That is why we are examining all dimensions of the Restart Grant as set out in the Programme for Government.
In improving access to finance, there is a need to not only guarantee credit but do so in a way which does not add costs to businesses unduly. As well as this, and looking to the long-term, the important area of seed and venture capital needs strengthening.
While I have emphasised the importance of preserving existing firms and jobs, the July package should also have an eye to exploiting emerging opportunities and attract high value projects with significant economic benefits. Importantly, the July Initiative must position our economy and firms to meet future challenges. In the near-term, this includes helping companies further in overcoming the challenges of Brexit, but we also need to include measures that build enterprise resilience and help them transition to a low carbon future.
The full range of Enterprise Ireland, Local Enterprise Office (LEO) and Údarás na Gaeltachta grant and advisory supports continue to be available to eligible firms to help with strategies to access finance, commence or ramp-up online trading activity, reconfigure business models, cut costs, innovate, diversify markets and supply chains and to improve competitiveness.
Enterprise Ireland is also working with client companies to support the stabilisation of their business such as the Lean Business Continuity Support and the Business Financial Planning Grant so that they can undertake a developmental programme focused on recovery and growth.
In addition to the immediate COVID-19 response, Enterprise Ireland continues to strongly focus on supporting companies to invest in innovation, competitiveness and market diversification. This will be vital for recovery from the impact of COVID-19 and to meet the challenges and opportunities presented by Brexit.
The Regional Enterprise Development Fund (REDF), which is administered by Enterprise Ireland on behalf of my Department, was introduced to support the development and implementation of collaborative and innovative projects that can sustain and add to employment at county, regional and national level. The REDF has been an effective instrument of policy particularly as a complement to the Regional Enterprise Plans where it has served as an enabler for projects emerging from that regional collaborative process.
My Department’s Border Enterprise Development Fund (BEDF), which is administered by Enterprise Ireland, was launched earlier this year and will provide support for collaborative, enterprise capability building projects, to advance entrepreneurship, productivity and innovation in the Border Region. The aim of the fund is to improve the international competitiveness of enterprise in the Border Region in the context of Brexit and other market challenges, which now also include COVID-19.
I can assure the Deputy that I will continue to work with my colleagues across Government and with all stakeholders, to examine all such appropriate business supports to assist all businesses impacted by COVID-19 and a possible no deal Brexit.
