Tag Archives: small firms

THE mood amongst the small business community at the start of 2018 is cautiously optimistic, with nearly two-thirds of owner-managers believing that the business environment is improving. That’s according to the Small Firms’ Association (SFA), the Ibec group, in its Small Firms Outlook 2018 report, which was published this week. SFA director, Sven Spollen-Behrens did however add a caution. “2017 has been a challenging year for small business. Whilst cautious optimism seems to be returning amid emerging wage demands, the increasing cost of doing business and Brexit dampens the mood. “However, nearly 60% of SFA members say their businesses are growing, with only 4% declining. This shows that 2018 has the potential to be a strong year, if the risks are managed effectively at firm level and Government level.” Mr Spollen-Behrens noted 71% of survey respondents indicated their intention to recruit over the coming year, up substantially from the SFA survey in May of last year. “Small firms already employ …

The Small Firms Association (SFA) has, following the triggering of Article 50 by the British Government, published a toolkit for small businesses to help them to practically prepare for Brexit. Sue O’Neill, SFA chair, commented, “Whilst many factors are outside our control, it is important for each small business to assign senior management responsibility to assessing the impact on their own business, and developing contingency plans for likely impacts. Companies should pay particular focus to assessing the potential impacts of currency movements, along with supply chain, commercial contracts, finance and funding and workforce considerations. They should also reassess the impact on technology, in particular issues around data sharing, likely changes to regulation and market access, and change their own operating structures accordingly.” Ms O’Neill emphasised the singular impacts of Brexit on Ireland, over and above other EU members states, and called on the EU Commission to prioritise these concerns in their negotiating strategy. “The UK is a key marketplace for …

Over 20% of small firms in the Clare area do not know who their local public representatives are, and only 18% are aware of the technology and business grants available worth up to €5,000. This was revealed in the inaugural Magnet Regional Business Barometer (MRBB), a study of over 600 SMEs across the Republic of Ireland by Amarach Research on behalf of cloud telecoms provider, Magnet,. The study revealed that companies of five staff and under are least confident, and all feel the Government is not doing enough for them. Nevertheless, more than 70% small firms in Clare and the Mid-West are optimistic about the year ahead, making them among the most positive in the country. SME decision makers are much more positive than the general public, with 75% of SMEs saying the economy is improving, while just 55% of the general public feel this is the case.The manufacturing sector is most positive in its outlook for the year ahead, …

The December 2014 Live Register figures published today (Wednesday) show a decline of 3,300 compared to the November figures. This represents 37 consecutive months of decrease in the live register and means that the unemployment rate now stands at 10.6 per cent, down from a peak of 15.1% in February 2012. More than 140,000 people left the live register to go into employment over the last 12months. The figures also show that the live register has decreased in all eight regions of the country over the past 12 months. Both the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton and the director of the Small Firms Association, Patricia Callan have welcomed the improved position, confirmed in the CSO figures. However, Ms Callan stated, “It is imperative that the Government delivers a comprehensive Action Plan for Jobs 2015 later this month. As a general principle, we believe that every single policy emanating from Government should be centrally “job-proofed”, as many different …