The introduction of a “red tape challenge” across Government to significantly reduce regulation for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) is among the priority actions identified in a major new report designed to boost the State’s competitiveness.
The Action Plan on Competitiveness and Productivity, which was launched on Wednesday by Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tánaiste Simon Harris, contains 85 actions for enhancing competitiveness, with 26 of these identified as priority.
Each action has been assigned to a Government department or agency which will have responsibility for its delivery within a specified time period. Implementation will be overseen by a senior officials group chaired by the Department of the Taoiseach.
The report says the “red tape challenge”, which is marked priority, is aimed at “simplifying and reducing” administrative burdens for SMEs by 2029.
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“This would include a review by each Government department to identify regulations to be removed or reduced without impacting on policy objectives and a public consultation to identify areas of high burden or where burden reduction could be launched,” it said.
Ibec executive director of lobbying and influence Fergal O’Brien called the move “an important step forward”.
The report also commits to establishing an SME scaling fund next year to increase the available public capital for direct and indirect investment to support scaling, improve access and choice for founders, and encourage new private capital into the Irish market.
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On housing, the report commits to “further embedding” supply and demand side initiatives at design and procurement stages, as well as “strengthening industry capability”, with a focus on digitalisation, sustainable practices, lean processes and the adoption of modern methods of construction.
Separately, the plan commits to providing the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission with new powers to impose administrative financial sanctions for breaches of consumer protection legislation.
Another priority is the establishment of a National Artificial Intelligence Office by 2026 to provide “a focal point” for the promotion and adoption of transparent and safe AI in Ireland, and to ensure that the State fully captures the opportunity AI presents.
The report notes the economic potential of encouraging the adoption of innovative technologies by the SME sector, and commits to examining options such as the introduction of new tax-based supports to encourage innovation by all firms.
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It further commits to the development of a new agency called IP Ireland designed to position the State as a global hub for intellectual property, leveraging its strengths in technology, pharmaceuticals and creative industries.
On energy, it commits to bringing forward legislation to permit and implement a new “private wire framework” allowing the private sector to install electricity grids to enable the deployment of renewables and storage, and allowing “innovative energy park systems” to emerge in certain locations.
In addition, the Department of the Taoiseach is to co-ordinate a “range of actions” aimed at regulatory reform across Government departments, including the establishment of a central economic regulators forum out to 2027.
