Public Policy

Minister Jack Chambers has announced that a new Regulatory Simplification Unit has been set up to support faster delivery of critical infrastructure projects. It comes after the Accelerating Infrastructure Taskforce found that the pre-planning stage for major infrastructure projects is taking too long.  As part of a roundtable event on the NDP, that the Institute held with members last year, the issue of bottlenecks in the planning of infrastructure projects was discussed. It is encouraging to see items from the Accelerating Infrastructure Action Plan implemented in the first quarter of 2026 – this prioritisation reflects urgency, which is extremely welcome.   The new Regulatory Simplification Unit will: Conduct a risk-based review of the current regulatory landscape. This will involve analysing and mapping existing processes and conducting workshops with the bodies involved in consenting, permitting and licensing to identify and remove bottlenecks.  Identify opportunities to enhance cooperation and streamline processes for more effective delivery of the National Development Plan; and  Focus on simplifying and improving the complex consenting, permitting and licensing systems across critical infrastructure sectors that support housing delivery – energy, transport and water infrastructure.  The establishment of the Unit marks the commencement of Action 9 of the Accelerating Infrastructure Action Plan, which aims to support the simplification of overlapping and unduly complex regulatory frameworks.    

Research carried out by Amárach research on behalf of the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment has found that more than four in five businesses (85 percent) say sustainability is important to the day-to-day running of their business. The findings of the second phase of SME Sustainability Research – Wave 2 were announced by the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment Peter Burke TD and are in line with the previous year’s findings. Read more. The survey of 344 SMEs shows that two in five had taken steps such as insulating their buildings or changing their windows in the past two years to improve their energy efficiency. Other findings were that ‘making a positive difference’ (35 percent) and saving money (34 percent) were the top motivations for businesses in becoming sustainable. Just over a quarter of business say that climate change is currently affecting their operations, rising significantly among larger firms and those operating for more than 20 years. Among affected businesses, adverse weather is now the dominant impact, reflecting the growing reality of extreme weather events. Most sustainability action is concentrated in practical, cost-effective areas: waste reduction (49%), energy efficiency (44%), and renewable energy adoption (33%) remain the most common measures adopted by businesses. The main barrier for organisations to act more sustainably remained upfront investment costs (22%), although at a lower rate compared to 2024. Commenting Minister Burke said by doing so these businesses would also be cutting their energy costs and would become more competitive, and urged SMEs to avail of the Local Enterprise Offices’ Energy Efficiency Grant (EEG) and the SEAI’s Building Energy Upgrade Scheme (BEUS) to buy energy efficient equipment and to retrofit their buildings. In 2025, 681 small business were approved for the EEG at estimated value of €5.7 million, while 186 BEUS grants with an estimated value of €3.36 million were approved. Minister Burke also advised businesses to use the Government’s free toolkit - ClimateToolkit4Business.gov.ie – to measure their carbon emissions, as by estimating their environmental impact, SMEs can start to tackle it. The ClimateToolkit4Business.gov.ie is a government initiative designed to help business cut carbon emissions and energy costs. It is a joint initiative of the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment and the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment (DCEE). This year’s survey also included questions on the potential of the circular economy to Irish businesses, with Minister of State for Employment, Small Business and Retail and Circular Economy Alan Dillon TD pointing to the value businesses are seeing in re-using, recycling and minimising waste. The Government of Ireland has this week launched Ireland’s Circular Economy Strategy 2026-2028, setting out the national plan to accelerate Ireland’s transition from a linear ‘take make waste’ model to a circular, sustainable economy. Commenting Susan Rossney, Sustainability Advocacy Manager with Chartered Accountants Ireland said: “We welcome the findings of this research that sustainability is important to 85% of the businesses surveyed. SMEs are the backbone of Ireland’s economy, accounting for over 99% of all businesses and employing a significant portion of the workforce. With their size and agility, they are uniquely positioned to innovate and implement sustainable practices quickly. But they face challenges in what can be a complex and potentially resource-intensive transition. Without coordinated support, many SMEs risk being left behind. Considering their prominence in the business landscape of the region, this in turn undermines regional efforts to meet climate and biodiversity targets.”  

It has been a busy week of commentary on savings and investments. An Tánaiste and Minister for Finance, Simon Harris, spoke about how he wants to help people get the most out of their money. On a Leaders interview with RTÉ, he outlined that he will bring a strategy to government setting out its plan for a Savings and Investment Scheme to bring Ireland in line with many of our European colleagues.   He outlined that he plans to: Make saving and investing more rewarding and accessible for ordinary families, not just the wealthy. Bring Ireland closer in line with European peers who have structures that help people make their money work harder and better for them. Reduce barriers like outdated rules that currently act as a drag on long-term personal investment.  The Tánaiste also commented outside the meeting of Finance Ministers in Brussels that “There is a €170 billion on deposit today, we need to make that money work – not just for our country, not just for the economy, but for our SMEs…I’m thinking of the next generation of people in Ireland and how this could help with their own personal economic resilience…At the moment they are locked out of any meaningful participation in the investment scenario in Ireland.”  Last week we updated you on our advocacy in this area and we wrote to Minister Harris, with recommendations to implement changes to Ireland’s savings and investments ecosystem including: Abolish the deemed disposal rule Reduce the tax rate on investment funds  Introduce loss relief on disposals of units in a fund at a loss Introduce a Savings and Investment Account  Prioritise financial literacy   In our letter, we outlined that increasing retail investment is not only beneficial to households and workers but also to the wider economy.  Whether it is improving the funding environment for growing innovative companies or increasing investment opportunities in infrastructure, the possibilities are considerable if Ireland gets this right.    On Budget day, it was announced that a road map would be published in the first quarter of 2026 outlining how the government plans to implement the recommendations in the Funds 2030 report. We will hopefully see the details of the Minister’s plans for savings and investments outlined in the roadmap and for it to be published in the coming weeks. We look forward to engaging with Government in this area – whether via a forum or consultation process. We will represent members views and keep members updated in this area of important work.