153. Deputy Edward Timmins asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the steps being taken to reduce red tape and bureaucracy for Irish SME's; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45655/26]

The Action Plan on Competitiveness and Productivity was published in September 2025. It is a commitment in the Programme for Government which focuses on the economic areas that fall within our domestic sphere of influence. The Action Plan contains 85 actions for enhancing our competitiveness and productivity performance, with 26 of these identified as priority actions. Actions are set out across six themes with one of them being ‘regulating for growth and controlling costs’. This theme aims to ameliorate the regulatory costs faced by Irish businesses. Ireland lags behind the average of the five best performing OECD countries, particularly in the area of licences and permits. Delays stemming from the courts system in relation to dispute resolution have also been flagged as a drag on competitiveness.

The Plan identifies three areas for improved performance spanning better regulation, licensing and permitting and the legal and courts system. Actions are proposed to implement licensing decision deadlines for the Environmental Protection Agency, introduce a ‘Red Tape Challenge’ across Government to significantly reduce regulation for SMEs and to implement the recommendations from the Review of the Administration of Civil Justice Report amongst others. Each action is assigned to a government department or agency which will have responsibility for its delivery within a specified time-period.

As outlined in the Action Plan, the Department of the Taoiseach is coordinating a range of actions aimed at regulatory reform across Government Departments. The Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment is working with that Department on a Red Tape Challenge to reduce the regulatory burden for SMEs. We expect to launch this shortly. This work is being informed by the forthcoming Cost of Business Advisory Forum report and its recommendations. Other work on better regulation being progressed across Government includes:

• the EU Simplification Agenda;

• Accelerating Infrastructure Report and Action Plan;

• Civil Reform Bill;

• Actions under the National Digital and AI Strategy;

• Expediting the Environment Miscellaneous Provisions Bill; and

• Commencing reforms under the Planning and Development Act 2024 to enhance delivery of infrastructure.

As mentioned, the Cost of Business Advisory Forum was established in June 2025 delivering on a commitment in the Programme for Government. The Forum’s primary objective has been to examine key cost drivers and regulatory frameworks, such as energy costs, insurance and legal costs, water and wastewater service, infrastructure and planning, tax administration and regulatory compliance, and assess the impact of rising costs and regulatory pressures on businesses in Ireland.

The February 2026 meeting of the Forum focused on tax administration and regulatory burdens; Forum members highlighted that excessive and overly complex reporting and compliance obligations have a cost to businesses. The Forum members suggested that to guarantee the stability, robustness and competitiveness of the Irish economy, several areas would benefit from the streamlining of regulation and compliance. The Forums report, due to be published, includes recommendations to address these issues. Members also welcomed Government’s commitment to reducing regulatory burdens but suggested there is still room for improvement.

The Forums consultative phase has now concluded, this independent report and its recommendations are being finalised and will be presented to Government in the coming weeks. These recommendations are considered 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 a competitive, resilient and supportive environment for enterprise.

In 2025, Minister Burke updated the Government on the significant progress that this department has made in reducing red tape and simplifying processes for small businesses. I urge all government departments and agencies to follow suit and eliminate unnecessary administrative burdens that hinder enterprise growth.

I would like to assure that the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment have been and are still committed to backing businesses and will ensure the actions aimed at supporting small businesses in the Programme for Government are implemented in an effective and timely manner.