Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 23 February 2023
160. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the extent to which his Department continues to monitor developments in the manufacturing and service sectors, including retail, with a view to endeavouring to address potential threats at an early date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9452/23]
Amharc ar fhreagra163. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the extent to which he continues to assist both the manufacturing and service sectors, in order to deflect the impact of costs increases, whether generated internally or externally; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9463/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 160 and 163 together.
Government has put in place a range of measures in Budget 2023 to assist companies in facing the ongoing effects of Covid, Brexit and the illegal war in Ukraine. Building on the recently published White Paper on Enterprise, my Department working with our agencies and stakeholders will continue to monitor potential threats and identify opportunities for our enterprise sectors through both the Enterprise Forum and the Retail Forum.
The Enterprise Forum operated by my Department meets quarterly or as otherwise necessary, to discuss enterprise policy implications arising from emerging national and international challenges, with a particular focus on capturing the views, concerns and suggestions of the enterprise sector. Membership includes business representative bodies, senior officials from my Department and representatives from my Department's agencies. In addition, where appropriate, colleagues from other government departments, agencies or others with specialist insights into agenda topics may be invited .
In relation to the Retail sector, the Retail Forum, established in 2014 which also meets on a quarterly basis and is chaired by Minister of State Richmond, continues to provide a platform for mutual discussion between Government and the wider retail sector and value chain.
Membership of the Forum is comprised of Government, public sector bodies, retail representative bodies, business representative bodies, enterprise agencies and retailers including SMEs. Current priorities for the Forum include monitoring of the sector to respond to challenges and opportunities arising from disruptive changes including the evolving energy situation, digitalisation and decarbonisation. Additionally, members are invited to update the Minister on key issues of relevance to the sector at Forum meetings and through his officials.
The impacts of the war in Ukraine will also continue to be a focus for Government and my Department. The €200 million Ukraine Enterprise Crisis Fund, which was launched in October 2022, provides liquidity supports to viable but vulnerable manufacturing and internationally traded services companies experiencing trading difficulties, as well as targeted supports for eligible energy intensive companies experiencing severe increases in energy costs.
As a result of feedback from business, on Tuesday the Government, in the cost-of-living announcement, announced that the TBESS scheme would be amended to ensure more businesses are eligible to apply.
It is proposed that business who are tax compliant and whose energy bills have increased by 30% instead of 50% can now claim TBESS and this will be applied retrospectively to September 2022.
The scheme will also be extended to 31st March 2023 and there is an option to extend further to 31st July 2023 if required. From 1st March onwards the level of relief will rise to 50% from 40% previously. EU State aid approval will be sought for the proposed changes to the Scheme.
We are also exploring options for providing assistance to businesses who rely on oil and LPG as their energy source and will revert to Government further on options.
In terms of access to finance, my Department will continue to support businesses who experience difficulty in accessing mainstream credit through discrete schemes such as Microfinance Ireland, the recently launched Ukraine Credit Guarantee Scheme and the various SBCI loan schemes still extant.
