Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

We will engage with the business community. It is important to say that the context now is different from it was during the Covid pandemic and the very high and difficult levels of inflation we experienced in the economy. We are entering a more regular budgetary environment. We will set out more on that the summer economic statement next week. With inflation easing, we expect the domestic economy and the real disposable income of households to strengthen and improve during the year, which will help retailers and the hospitality sector through the year. That will make a difference too.

Separately, my colleague, the Minister, Deputy Burke, is doing a great deal of work on the cost of running a business and the supports we have put in place, which I outlined. As part of budget 2025, we will engage with everybody. It is important to note that we are entering a different budgetary framework from what we had in the previous four years. We must ensure we are careful because we have risks in the economy. We cannot continue to have repeated temporary interventions in the years ahead. We have to enter a more regular position to plan for the medium to long term.

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