Budget to make new staff hires easier

The agriculture and food minister said he expects October’s budget to include new taxation measures which will make it easier for sole traders and small businesses to hire new staff.

Simon Coveney was speaking at the Cork and Kerry Food Forum industry showcase in Cork yesterday, where 40 expanding food firms announced the creation of 65 jobs across the region.

Several producers said they want and need to hire more staff but simply can not afford to, and they called for tax breaks.

Mr Coveney declined to be drawn on whether the budget will cut employers’ PRSI, but said:

“The priority of Government going into this election is to try and help businesses who are courageous enough to take on money and build on ideas and employ more people on the back of that, to try and help them do that in as competitive way as possible from a taxation view. I think you’ll see it in the upcoming budget.

“You’ll see us trying to help businesses, in particular, sole traders and small businesses, to try and reduce their tax burden and make it more affordable to take on people.”

Some 200,000 people work in the food sector, accounting for almost 10% of the workforce. “What has happened in the Irish food sector over the last four to five years has been transformational,” Mr Coveney said.

“It has been one of the shining lights of the Irish economy during a difficult period. It is, in my opinion, the most important sector in the Irish economy.

"When people are brave enough to take risk and spend money setting up a food business, it is important that we put the infrastructure around them to make sure that they get the best possible chance of success.”

The 65 jobs announced yesterday are being created in food business start-ups as a result of the Food Academy, a collaboration between Bord Bia, SuperValu, Local Enterprise Offices in Cork and Kerry, as well as Cork and Kerry city and county councils.

The producers who participated in the academy will generate sales worth €1.2m this year.

SuperValu’s managing director, Martin Kelleher, said the job creation figures are a real endorsement of the Food Academy initiative.

“It is great to nurture the energy and passion of these entrepreneurial producers and harness this into producing a range of products that we are proud to stock on our shelves,” he said.

“By matching SuperValu stores with start-up food business in their area, the Food Academy programme is providing a real boost for local economies throughout Ireland.”

Almost 5,000 people attended the Cork Kerry Food Forum public market in City Hall on Sunday. Dozens of businesses and trade buyers attended an industry conference there yesterday.