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

Business owners are begging for supports. Many of them joined the recent fuel protests as a last resort, just to have their voices heard. This comes in the context of the Government's spring economic statement, which predicts a surplus of €9.2 billion for this year, up from the €5.1 billion predicted on budget day.
Many of the businesses we are talking about have contributed substantially to that figure. Small- and medium-sized enterprises are the backbone of our economy. They sustain local communities, especially in rural areas like Mayo. Half-measures and piecemeal offerings so far have barely scratched the surface and not provided meaningful relief for SMEs. I put forward some suggestions recently to the Minister regarding more flexible payment options for grants administered by his Department, including upfront payments or staged instalments, rather than reimbursement as a lump sum after works have been carried out, but he rejected that proposal. I also suggested increasing the energy-efficiency grant from 75% to 100% for eligible costs to help businesses to decrease energy costs in the long term.

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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