83. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the additional supports that will be provided to small businesses in rural towns and villages that are facing increased energy, insurance, wage and operating costs; and whether targeted assistance will be introduced for businesses employing people in areas such as Cork North-West. [66946/26]

At national level, the Cost of Business Advisory Forum was established in June 2025 as part of the Programme for Government’s commitment to reduce business costs and alleviate regulatory burdens. The Forum’s Final Report and its 63 recommendations were approved by Government on 22 July 2026 and published on 28 August 2026.

Already, the work of the Forum is informing Government policy development, for example, its recommendations are helping to inform the work of the National Energy Affordability Taskforce, chaired by the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment, which is examining energy costs for businesses of different sizes. In addition, Minister Burke is engaging with the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance in advance of Budget 2027, and issues identified in the report are being taken into account as part of those discussions.

Reducing unnecessary administrative burdens on businesses remains a priority. In 2025, Minister Burke updated Government on my Department's progress in reducing red tape and simplifying processes for small businesses. Since August this year my Department is working with the Department of the Taoiseach on the Red Tape Challenge initiative, which aims to further reduce regulatory burdens for SMEs by asking Department, their associated agencies and regulatory bodies to audit permit and licensing frameworks.

More broadly, the Action Plan on Competitiveness was published in 2025 and implementation of its actions is continuing. Taken together, this work supports the Government’s efforts to address business costs, improve competitiveness and strengthen the enterprise environment.

At a Local level, my Department continues to support small Irish Businesses in towns and villages across the country through the Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs), based within the 31 Local Authorities including Cork North and West.  The LEOs provide information, advice and productivity supports to small businesses in the areas of decarbonisation, digitalisation and implementation of lean business practices.  This suite of supports, which is available to small businesses across most sectors of the economy, provides expert advisors who meet with small business owners and identify projects or changes to their work practices that can help them to reduce costs, increase efficiency and maximise profitability, saving time, energy and money.