Business Supports
Dail Éireann — 2026-04-28
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Rose Conway-Walsh (SF), Mayo

The Minister's policies are not hitting the ground because towns and villages are hollowing out, with visible increases in vacancy and dereliction and declining footfall. Small and independent retailers, particularly in rural and regional areas, are facing unsustainable cost pressures. We know that rising costs in energy, insurance, rents and commercial rates are disproportionately impacting small businesses compared to the larger multinationals. The Minister of State, Deputy Dillon, who is beside the Minister will know what I am talking about when I say that I walked down the street in Castlebar last week and saw a number of businesses closed. He knows that businesses that have been there for years, if not generations, are gone and those units are now empty. That is exactly what I am talking about. We need action to be able to ensure that those units are full. We need to work to make sure they do not close down in the first place but, if they do, that they are quickly repaired and reoccupied. I am also concerned about towns like Belmullet where shop units are being taken over for residential development in the middle of the town. I am worried about where towns are going when we do not have businesses in them.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-04-28/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:52+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-04-28