Cost of Business Advisory Forum Report sets out 63 recommendations to boost competitiveness and cut costs
Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, Peter Burke TD, today (August 28th) welcomed the publication of the Final Report of the Cost of Business Advisory Forum, which contains 63 recommendations aimed at reducing business costs, strengthening competitiveness and easing regulatory burdens.
The Forum brought together business representative bodies, including Chambers Ireland, social partners, regulators, State agencies and Government departments to examine key non-pay cost drivers affecting enterprise, including energy, insurance, legal services, water and wastewater services, infrastructure and planning, tax administration and regulatory compliance, and banking and financial services.
The resulting report identifies six key themes affecting businesses and sets out recommendations focused on price transparency, switching and access, regulatory reform and simplification, and targeted measures to address bottlenecks. Those themes are:
- Energy is the Biggest Driver of Business Costs
- Better Price Transparency and Easier Switching Required
- Regulators Need to Engage More with Business
- A New Culture of Regulatory Reform is Needed
- There is an Urgent Need for Legal Reform
- Limited business banking competition is driving high borrowing costs
Minister Burke explained, “I established the Cost of Business Advisory Forum as a priority commitment in the Programme for Government. The Forum provides advice and recommendations to Government on practical ways to reduce the cost of doing business for firms.
The Final Report contains 63 recommendations which can be grouped under price transparency, switching and access, regulatory reform and simplification, reform measures and targeted allocation of additional resources to reduce bottlenecks. These recommendations, deliverable over the short, medium and long term, aim to support a more competitive, resilient and enabling environment for businesses in Ireland.
For its part, Chambers Ireland welcomed the publication of the Cost of Business Advisory Forum Report and the constructive engagement with businesses and representative organisations throughout its development.
“Publication, however, is only the starting point. The report clearly reflects the pressures our members experience, but businesses do not need another document to sit on a shelf. They need action that reduces the real costs and complexity affecting decisions on investment, hiring and expansion and, for many SMEs, basic viability, ” said Chambers Ireland CEO, Ian Talbot.
“The recommendations must now move quickly from report to delivery. Business confidence has been weakened, and the priority must be implementation. The Forum has done important work in identifying practical reforms and engaging business organisations; Government must now ensure that this work produces measurable results.”
Chambers Ireland has called for the report to be adapted into an Action Plan on Tackling Business Costs. This should include clear implementation timelines, named lead bodies for each recommendation, regular public reporting and dedicated funding where required to deliver meaningful reform.
To read the full report follow this link: https://enterprise.gov.ie/en/publications/cob.html
