Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 2 November 2021
12. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the supports provided for the small business sector under budget 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52578/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraWill the Tánaiste outline the supports provided for small businesses under budget 2022?
A strong and resilient SME sector is key to rebuilding the economy after the Covid crisis. Provision made by the Government in budget 2022 aims to ensure small and medium-sized businesses are sustainable and competitive in the long term. Specifically, we want to equip enterprises for the transition to the green and digital economy. We also recognise that some businesses are in need of assistance as we continue to reopen the economy and society in general. My Department, together with IDA Ireland and the local enterprise offices, is working with enterprises to help them to stabilise, reset and recover. To date, €238 million has been approved under IDA Ireland's Covid-19 supports.
The Covid-19 pandemic has also seen the agency work beyond its client base. In 2020, Enterprise Ireland took more than 1,200 new companies onto its client management system, a near 70% increase compared to 2019. Overall, the Department's core budget has increased by €103 million or 13.2% on budget 2021. This is a record core allocation for the Department and will significantly bolster the ability of the Department to help businesses to rebuild and grow after the pandemic and the impacts of Brexit, in conjunction with our development agencies.
Other measures include the employment wage subsidy scheme, EWSS, which is extended to April 2022 at a cost of up to €1.4 billion, and a targeted rates waiver to help businesses to get back on their feet. We have also ensured that low-cost, Government-backed loans will remain available. I stress to the Deputy and his colleagues that they should remind businesses that now is a good time to look at their financial needs for the remainder of this year and in the years ahead and to avail of the supports and credit guarantee schemes that are available - the most recent Brexit impact one was launched a few weeks ago - to put financial plans in place for low-cost and long-term funding.
A number of other significant initiatives to future-proof our SMEs on their growth journey include an expansion of the employment and investment incentive scheme, the extension of the small start-up companies relief and the new digital games tax relief, as well as a confirmation of a new €90 million innovation equity fund. That will be a very beneficial fund to invest in companies throughout the country as they seek to bring their products to the market and to scale up as well.
The years 2020 and 2021 have been extremely difficult for businesses, particularly the businesses that have been adversely affected by Covid-19. I have spoken in the House on a number of occasions about the tourism bus sector and the huge pressure on it. There are a number of companies in my constituency that run very efficient bus operations for tourism. They had no business in 2021 but they have bookings for 2022. There was an allocation in the budget for tourism. It is absolutely imperative that this money is distributed as quickly as possible and that there is an accurate assessment of the businesses that need the funding to keep their heads above water. Even though the businesses are closed, they still have a serious amount of overhead costs, such as insurance, repayments on their fleets and so forth. Even though buses were standing idle, they were depreciating in value. This sector is under massive pressure and it is a vital cog in the re-establishment of the tourism sector in 2022. Without buses to take tourists to various locations around the country, the tourism industry will not regain its former stature. I ask the Minister of State to ensure that the allocation in the budget is distributed as quickly as possible and that the businesses that need it most receive it.
The Deputy will appreciate that I do not have the details of every scheme across the different Departments with me, especially as I thought the question was coming from a Kilkenny Deputy. However, I have discussed the situation in Tipperary with the Deputy and I have been there as well to engage with all the stakeholders. I am aware of the opportunities as well as the difficulties for some of the businesses in Tipperary. I can assure the Deputy that, from our point of view, when we announce budget supports, both in the recent budget as well as the supports that were put in place throughout the epidemic, we expect them to be implemented, assessed and distributed as quickly as possible. The Deputy is correct that a number of sectors are still under immense pressure. We recognise that. In my view, the supports are available and it is important that they are administered as quickly as possible to give those businesses a chance to survive and avail of the opportunities in the sector in 2022. On top of the supports that I set out, which is a combination of grants, supports, wage subsidies and the opportunity to draw down financial products at the right price, there are other contingency funds set aside so that if we need to draw on them during 2022 we can do so. We are very much on the side of business. We want a jobs-led recovery and for that to happen we must support businesses, and that is what we intend to do.
The Government has put a massive amount of investment into supporting business through an unprecedented and difficult time. As we head into the spring of 2022, it is essential to continue that support. There are businesses that are still seriously affected and their costs of doing business have increased substantially. In the hospitality sector the way the Covid restrictions are still operating, and necessarily so as we see the level of Covid in the country, is increasing labour costs for those businesses. It is essential that this is kept in mind in the last quarter of 2021 and as we head into 2022. We have done a massive amount to keep businesses afloat and we must go the final leg of the journey to ensure that the financial support that is necessary for the hospitality sector and other sectors that are still affected by Covid restrictions remains in place. It would be a shame, after the huge amount of money we have put into the economy, if we failed to finish the last piece of the jigsaw as we hopefully overcome Covid once and for all. Those businesses just have to be kept afloat until we get back to normality.
I assure the Deputy that we fully intend to see this out. As I said, a jobs-led recovery means supporting business all the way. The Deputy referred to the hospitality sector. It is a sector that valued the wage subsidy more than most. That remains in place until next April. On top of that, I ask the sector to look at and engage with Pathways to Work. There are additional supports in that to encourage the sector to take on new staff and to take staff off the pandemic unemployment payment, PUP, or off social welfare. There is a range of supports that are very beneficial. There is a work placement scheme that is open to any business and I am surprised that it has been underutilised since it was announced in July. Again, that is to assist people back into work, but by doing that it is also assisting the employer. Yes, there is a difficult time ahead for the sector the Deputy mentioned. The spring will tell the tale of what businesses can survive and come through this time.
However, there are over 10,000 vacancies in this sector at present. The best way to assist those companies is to assist with the employment and training. A number of initiatives have been put in place throughout the education system in conjunction with our Department through Skillnet Ireland, the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, under the Minister, Deputy Harris, and the Minister of State, Deputy Niall Collins, and the Department of Social Protection under the Minister, Deputy Humphreys. We want to work with the businesses in this sector to fill those vacancies and to make it a viable sector again. I am full of confidence that we can make it a viable sector, but there are a few difficult months ahead, as the Deputy said as well.
