Irish SME Association

Lobbying Organisation Irish SME Association

Date published 04 Sep, 2018

Relevant Matter Legislation

Public Policy Area Budgetary matters

Period 1 May, 2018 to 31 Aug, 2018

Specific Details ISME pre-budget submission 2019

Intended results Implement in full the 20 key tax recommendations made by the Irish Tax Institute. Reduce the punitive 23% VAT rate to 21%, and retain the 9% rate. Our taxes on property, commercial rates and LPT, need to be brought up to date and made fit for purpose. Spending on infrastructure should be prioritised above current account spending, and should rise to 4% of GNI*. Capital expenditure must take priority over increasing current expenditure. We should nationalise the wholesale telecoms distribution network, in the same way as we do the electricity grid. Our Inheritance Tax regime must be updated, both to increase yield, to encourage more intensive use of assets, and to incentivise the scaling up rather than sale of family businesses 6. In light of the critical importance of international competitiveness for a small open economy, we recommend an increased scope for the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (IFAC), to include in their remit ongoing commentary on the work of the National Competitiveness Council (NCC), so that the NCC has an external advocate. Our further education and training regime is not consistent with activating a bigger workforce, or training the unskilled. Ireland’s performance on NEETs1 is markedly worse than the OECD average. We must divert spending from non-performing programs towards those which will expand our workforce in size, learning and expertise A Labour Force Activation program for the Disability Sector; ensuring a 'Workplace Access Grant', 'Minimise the financial risk for employers', Remove the onus from the employer to apply for grant support and empower the jobseeker with a disability to seek work with their supports already in place', Allocate €250,000 to the Employer Disability Information (EDI) service, Reintroduce the Statutory Redundancy Rebate (or remove the 0.5% employers’ PRSI levy which funds it. Regulate peer-to-peer lending in Ireland. Permit no pay increases in the public sector that are not objectively justified by recruitment or retention issues, or are warranted by comparison to international benchmarks All School Uniforms, of whatever size, be zero rated for VAT purposes Update and reform the current ARV calculation system for commercial rates, and reform of the LPT system The proposal for auto enrolment into a Universal Retirement Savings Scheme (URSS) must be progressed. Employee and Government should make a defined percentage contribution. There needs to be a substantial re-balancing of education spending away from third-level and university-delivered education towards skills-based training and life-long learning. Broadband: ISME believes that the wholesale distribution network should be bought back by the State and nationalised

Name of person primarily responsible for lobbying on this activity Neil McDonnell

Did any Designated Public Official(DPO) or former Designated Public Official(DPO) carry out lobbying activities on your behalf in relation to this return? You must include yourself, and answer Yes, if you are a current DPO or a DPO at any time in the past. (What is a Designated Public Official?) No

Did you manage or direct a grassroots campaign? No

Was this lobbying done on behalf of a client? No

Lobbying activity

The following activities occurred for this specific Subject Matter Area.

Email (21-30)

Designated public officials lobbied

The following DPOs were lobbied during this return period on this specific Subject Matter Area. These DPOs were involved in at least one of the Lobbying Activities listed above, but not necessarily all of them. As returns are specific to a Subject Matter Area the above Lobbying Activities may be associated with multiple returns.

Heather Humphreys Minister (Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation)

Denis Naughten Minister (Department of Environment, Climate and Communications)

John McGuinness TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Peter Burke TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

John Deasy TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Pearse Doherty TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Michael McGrath TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Paul Murphy TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Paddy Burke Senator (Seanad)

Rose Conway-Walsh Senator (Seanad)

Gerry Horkan Senator (Seanad)

Kieran O'Donnell Senator (Seanad)

Hildegarde Naughton TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Timmy Dooley TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

James Lawless TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Michael Lowry TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Eamon Ryan TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Michael McDowell Senator (Seanad)

Bríd Smith TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Brian Stanley TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Terry Leyden Senator (Seanad)

Tim Lombard Senator (Seanad)

Joe O'Reilly Senator (Seanad)

Orlaigh Quinn Secretary General (Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation)

Declan Hughes Assistant Secretary (Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation)