OECD to Government: Do more for Irish SMEs

The OECD — the international think tank — said the Government should do more for Irish indigenous SMEs as it highlighted small firms here pay among the highest borrowing costs in the eurozone.

Small firms’ industry groups long argued foreign-owned multi- nationals are showered with tax incentives, while Irish-owned small and medium companies are relatively less well supported despite employing hundreds of thousands.

That stance — unexpectedly — appears to have won the backing of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, which in its economic update published yesterday, said the Government would be best advised to re-direct its business incentives to local firms.