Enterprise Support Services
Dail Éireann — 2026-01-13
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Rose Conway-Walsh (SF), Mayo

Then how come there are 848 insolvencies? That does not add up in terms of the supports for small business.
I recognise that there are increased costs in wages but we cannot have a situation where workers are subsidising businesses. That is why the proposal for a PRSI rebate was put forward in our pre-budget submission to mitigate those costs, but the Minister did not take that up.
Behind every insolvency is a livelihood and a community hit.
On energy, Ireland is simply not competitive. Eurostat data shows that Ireland had among the highest electricity prices in the EU for non-household consumers in 2025. That is devastating for cafés, shops, small manufacturers and tourism businesses trying to plan month to month.
On the insurance, the rip-off continues. Premiums remain stubbornly high. SMEs are being hammered by public and employer liability costs. Overall, Ireland ranks among the top countries in the world for insurance premiums per capita , which tells us something about how expensive the overall system is.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-01-13/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:30+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-01-13