Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 19 February 2026
20. Deputy Tony McCormack asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the engagement he has had with retail representative bodies regarding the challenges facing the sector in 2026; the policy responses under consideration to sustain employment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13250/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Government acknowledges that the retail sector contributes to the economy of every city, town and village in Ireland. The sector provides highly important employment with over 220,000 people directly employed in retail. The Programme for Government is clear on the intention to support small businesses and as the Minister of State with responsibility for Retail and Chair of the Retail Forum, I am aware of the issues facing retailers.
The Retail Forum allows key issues of relevance to the retail sector to be discussed, with a view to identifying practical actions which could be taken by Government, or by industry itself, to support the sector with particular emphasis on achieving sustainable jobs growth in the sector. The work of the Forum is driven by its members and the issues that they have identified as being critical to examine to support sustainable jobs growth in the retail sector. Membership of the Forum includes retailers and retail representative bodies, public sector and academic bodies. The next meeting of the Retail Forum is due to take place on the 3 March 2026.
In relation to supports, the broad range of supports for the retail sector, including training programmes and funding to help retailers adapt to new challenges and opportunities in retail, can be found on the National Enterprise Hub, NEH. The NEH is an all-of-government service staffed by expertly trained advisers and is focused on helping businesses to access a range of Government supports.
Although the schemes are now closed, it is important to note that in 2024 and 2025 over €415 million was paid to SMEs right across the county, including retailers in particular, under the Increased Cost of Business and Power Up grant schemes.
Government made a commitment to establish a Cost of Business Advisory Forum in the Programme for Government 2025. The Advisory Forum brings together enterprise representatives across various sectors, which includes key representative bodies from the retail sector, alongside senior officials across Government departments, regulators and State agencies.
The Forum has met regularly over the last eight months with each meeting devoted to a distinct thematic area of concern to businesses; energy and security of supply, insurance, planning and infrastructure, water services and wastewater, and legal costs.
There are two remaining meetings in 2026 – Regulation: Reporting and Compliance on 18th February and Banking, Payments and Financial Services on 25th March.
Retail representative bodies have made regular submissions to the Forum and have highlighted the real-world impact of increased cost pressures and regulatory burden; and the effect these demands have on the operational capacity and competitiveness of retail SMEs.
As a result of stakeholder input, the resulting findings will inform a report and a set of recommendations to Government to address issues that merit a changed approach, and those steps that can be taken to mitigate these issues to ensure businesses navigating today’s economic landscape, remain in a competitive, resilient and supportive environment for enterprise.
