Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation
Dail Éireann — 2026-10-01
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Simon Harris (FG), Wicklow

I thank the Deputy for the question. In my time taking Leaders' Questions in this House, and let somebody fact check me if I am wrong, I do not ever recall being asked a question about job creation by an Opposition Member during the Leaders' Questions slot, which is interesting. At the moment, the political and often the media discourse just takes full employment for granted. It is a case of "We are at full employment, and sure is that not all grand." Of course, there are people who went to bed last night and lay awake looking at the ceiling wondering how they are going to pay the wage bill at the end of the week or the end of the month. Many of us in this House can say they have done it in past lives and many of us have never had to do that. The first thing we need to do in here is stop coming up with good ideas without working out how small businesses are going to pay for it. That is the first thing.
The second thing is that the Government can help in two ways. It can help in practical ways, whether that is through improved grants, through improving the research and development tax credit or improving the tax system itself by reducing income tax to have some positive effect on both purchasing power but also on wage growth pressure. Sometimes, the Government can also help by getting the hell out of the way if there is too much red tape and too much bureaucracy. The cost of doing business advisory forum has provided well over 60 recommendations that can really help and support.
The first thing we have to do in the budget next week is protect what we have as a country. The conversation about how to divide up the national pie is really important and speaks to our values. How much do you give to education? What about health? All of that is important but what if one day the pie is smaller? That conversation then becomes much harder. We remember those days and we can never forget them.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-10-01/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-10-05T01:01:00+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-10-01