Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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146. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment for further measures for SMEs, including the hospitality and retail sectors, to assist with ongoing impacts due to rising costs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43590/24]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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In March 2024, my Department and the Department of Social Protection published an assessment of the combined impact of proposed measures to improve working conditions in Ireland – including the transition to the Living Wage and increasing the number of days of Statutory Sick Leave. Reflecting the findings of this assessment, a range of measures were announced to assist businesses in adjusting to these increased costs and to improve the cost competitiveness of firms more generally. These include:

• Ensuring that the employer PRSI threshold is explicitly considered as part of the Low Pay Commission deliberations and is reviewed on each occasion that the minimum wage is increased.
• Increasing the employer PRSI threshold from €441 to €496 with effect from 1 October 2024, which will ensure that employers with employees earning the weekly equivalent of the national minimum wage will pay the lower rate of employer PRSI rate of 8.8%.
• Launching a second phase of the ICOB Scheme targeted at businesses in the retail and hospitality sectors.
• Doubling the Innovation Grant Scheme from €5,000 to €10,000.
• Increasing the maximum amount available under the Energy Efficiency Grant Scheme to €10,000 and reducing the business contribution rate from 50% to 25%.
• Widening the eligibility for the Trading Online Voucher, extending it to all sectors up to 50 employees, modernise eligible expenditure and doubling the grant to €5,000.
• Increasing the lending limit for Microfinance Ireland loans to €50,000 from €25,000.
• Widening the eligibility for the Digital for Business Consultancy Scheme and extending it to all sectors with up to 50 employees.
• Launching a new ‘Ireland’s Best Entrepreneur Programme’ to encourage entrepreneurship and startups in under-represented groups.
• Launching the new online National Enterprise Hub for SMEs to access information on the wide range of Government business supports.
• Implementing an enhanced ‘SME Test’ by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment in conjunction with the Department of An Taoiseach.
• Reviewing ESRI research on the impact of Statutory Sick Leave before deciding on any further increases.
• Reviewing the proposed Roadmap for Increasing Minimum Annual Remuneration Thresholds for Employment Permits.

• Changes to CGT Retirement Relief to support inter-generational transfers;
• Raising the VAT registration threshold to €85,000 for goods and €42,500 for services.
• Enhancements to Small Company Start Up Relief;
• Increasing the Small Benefit Exemption Limit to €1,500, and the number of benefits allowable from 2 to 5 annually;
• Extending BIK relief for certain categories of vehicles;
• €125 increase in the Earned Income Tax Credit;

Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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147. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the supports being considered for SMEs in the use of AI technologies for their businesses; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43591/24]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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The National AI Strategy is part of a suite of Government digital strategies under the overarching National Digital Strategy, Harnessing Digital, published in February 2022. My Department is responsible for implementing the actions in both strategies that relate to digitalisation and AI adoption in enterprise.

The overall aim of the AI Strategy is to drive the development and adoption of trustworthy, person-centred AI for economic and societal good.

A refresh of the National AI Strategy will be published in the coming weeks with actions for a range of government Departments and agencies. It aims to balance innovation with proportionate regulation and trust-building measures.

We now have a package of targeted supports for businesses to digitalise. Firstly, the Grow Digital Portal, is a website with a 5-minutes assessment that helps businesses to assess their progress on digitalisation and opportunities for improvement as well as presenting relatable case studies of businesses that have benefited from technology adoption.

Secondly, the LEOs Digital for Business consultancy scheme provides expert digital consultants to help businesses explore technology adoption opportunities.

Thirdly, the new LEOs Grow Digital Voucher, launched on 4 September 2024 offers businesses with up to 50 employees in all sectors up to €5,000 towards deployment of a wide range of digital software solutions. This represents a significant expansion on the previous Trading Online Voucher. We want to get the message out that deploying digital tools and technologies, including AI, can help businesses of all sizes, from sole traders up, to save time and money, and ultimately make them more competitive.

Government has established four European Digital Innovation Hubs to help businesses, and SMEs in particular, in evaluating and adopting digital and AI tools. I would like to draw particular attention to CeADAR, Ireland's Centre for Applied AI, which acts as the bridge between the worlds of applied research in AI and data analytics and their commercial deployment by business.

My Department established an Enterprise Digital Advisory Forum to assist Government to drive industry adoption of AI and other digital technologies. The DETE is also working with business representative groups to develop a collaborative campaign to increase digital and AI adoption among micro business and SMEs.

Enterprise Ireland recently introduced a new Cybersecurity grant for client companies and will increase the focus on helping its client base to adopt digital and AI tools as part of its new five-year strategy, to commence in 2025.

Government will help businesses to navigate this period of rapid technological change, to take advantage of the opportunities of AI, and to protect themselves from the risks.