A boutique gift shop owner in Cork City feels there was “nothing specific” for small businesses in the Budget 2024 speeches, but added she is hopeful about the average consumer having a bit of extra cash in their pockets in the run-up to Christmas.
Evanne O’Caoimh, owner of Unbound in Cork, said while the ministerial speeches included measures for multinationals and bigger businesses, she felt there was “nothing really that applied to the regular sole trader”.
Speaking to the PA news agency, she said: “I can’t see anything at all.”
Minister for Finance Michael McGrath said a 250 million euro package of temporary supports is “being developed” to support businesses through current challenges associated with cost-of-living pressures.
Ms O’Caoimh said she was hopeful for further energy supports given that she is limited in what she can do on energy efficiency with her rented space in the city’s Victorian Quarter.
She said: “You can only change so many lightbulbs. We’ve tried to reduce energy costs where we can but there’s a limit to what you can do without affecting the business.”
She added that the Temporary Business Energy Support Scheme (TBESS) in last year’s budget, which expired in September, was not as helpful as she had first hoped because it was calculated on a baseline which she felt did not accurately account for her spend.
She said: “It is starting to get colder and you are thinking about those things now so you would like to know there is support coming.”
Ms O’Caoimh was also looking for whether information on the anticipated introduction of the pension auto-enrolment scheme would be included in this year’s budget.
The small business owner said she understands the need for her employees to “make a good living”, adding that she has never really had a problem with staff retention.
However, she acknowledged the introduction of the measure will be an additional employment cost on top of the recent introduction of statutory sick pay and enhanced parental leave.
Auto-enrolment was not mentioned in the budget speeches, but Ms O’Caoimh said she is already planning for the measure.
She added: “It is going to have to be paid somewhere along the way, and it does need to be addressed. As a business person, you have to be forward thinking and you’d hate to think Government are shying away from a painful decision in the short term, even if it is no harm for us at the moment.”
Ms O’Caoimh was disappointed there was no reintroduction of the reduced VAT rate for hospitality and tourism, saying businesses like hers are also impacted by what happens in that sector.
“That would’ve been nice. Anything that supports the local economy helps all of us. It is definitely a communal financial environment.“
Having had a difficult summer with trade affected by ongoing roadworks outside her premises, she is hopeful of a bounce in the lead-up to Christmas.
Therefore, she said one of the main indicators for her business will be if “people are coming out happy” following the budget announcements.
Ms O’Caoimh said she was concerned that people could have come away with a negative perception of the economy and this would have an impact on their shopping habits.
She is hopeful that additional payments and changes to the tax strategy will mean consumers will have more cash in their pockets this winter.
She said: “It is not an overly disappointing budget in that the overall feeling is that it was positive for the ordinary person. But, for me personally, there was nothing specific for us which is disappointing.
“But maybe we’re not the ones most in need – although it doesn’t feel like that sometimes when you get the energy bill through the door.”
