Small rural businesses ‘strangled at birth’ by biased local authorities

SMALL businesses are being strangled at birth by biased local authorities who are costing jobs in rural areas.

The claim was made at the annual conference of Irish Rural Link (IRL) – a national body campaigning for sustainable rural development.

IRL chief executive Seamus Boland said job losses in construction and traditional manufacturing in rural areas proves that new non-traditional forms of enterprise must be encouraged in order to maintain rural vibrancy.