Small business representatives meet with Enterprise Minister

Representatives of the Small Firms Association (SFA) today met with Enterprise Minister Batt O’Keeffe to outline key priorities for the sector and stress the importance of a supportive environment for small business in Ireland.

SFA Chairman Dr Aidan O’Boyle told Minister O'Keefe the three critical deliverables for small firms were “confidence, cashflow & competitiveness.”

“Consumer and business confidence remains fragile and confidence will only return to the economy, to both business investors and consumers, if they really believe that the Government has put in place a sustainable plan to address the budget deficit and provide an environment for sustainable employment,” Dr. O’Boyle said.

"Cashflow is the lifeblood of all small businesses and with one in five small businesses continuing to experience decreases in the availability of working capital, we have a very serious problem."

Dr O'Boyle said that NAMA will not directly improve lending to small businesses.

He called on the Government to introduce a government-backed loan guarantee scheme to small businesses.