The Tánaiste is Minister for business and industry and everything else. Businesses, especially small businesses, were never under as much pressure as they are under now. In Clonmel, a number of them closed this week with more to go. The same is true in villages as well. It is very hard to restart a business or get a new business in. We have a huge issue here. The budget did very little for small businesses. The Government needs to do something with the charges for the gas and electricity. It has piled on more taxes. It has given back credits to people to give back what they paid. One fabulous business which been operating in Clonmel for 62 years is closing next Saturday. I do not want to mention any names. The pressure business people are under is unreal. The Tánaiste is talking about this, that and the other, but there are no meaningful supports for them. They are faced with rates, insurance costs and the cost of wages, with the price increases spiralling out of control, and they cannot continue in business. It is so sad to see them go out of business, some of them after six decades.

There were actually 15 things in the budget last week that helped businesses. The biggest element was up to €10,000 a month to help small businesses with their energy costs. That will be backdated to September and businesses will receive that money by November. It is true that we have seen an increase in business failures around the country over the past few weeks. I have seen it in my constituency and in this city. I have also heard from Senator Ahearn about businesses closing in Clonmel. That is really sad because a family business failing is almost like a death in the family. People put their heart and soul and lives into their business. When it fails, it is very sad.

We also need to be honest with people. Sometimes businesses are not viable. Many businesses only got through the pandemic period because of the Government supports. When that ended, they tried to make a go of it and were not able to. Unfortunately, some of those businesses will close. However, we are also at a time when many businesses are doing well and they cannot get staff. We also have to bear that in mind.