The Government has said it will provide further details of its €300m Brexit loan scheme for SMEs in the coming weeks amid mounting uncertainty among industry groups.

Irish banks continue to charge Irish small firms the highest interest rates in the eurozone, with a new Central Bank report suggesting the problem may have gotten worse for many SMEs, despite wholesale funding of banks resting at rock-bottom rates.

The Small Firms Association has said most of its members plan to give pay rises this year based on their ability to do so, after the Government raised the minimum wage by the 30c.

Minimum wage workers are set to see their pay increase by up to €12 a week in January in a move employers claim is not affordable and could threaten jobs.

AMIDST the layers of uncertainty surrounding Brexit, one thing is for sure: Ireland’s business environment must be fit for purpose and as attractive as possible to potential investors and existing businesses, both large and small, writes Linda Barry.

Raising the national minimum wage, at this time, would threaten the country’s small business community, a leading representative body has warned.

Ireland’s economy is the “most vulnerable” to Britain’s potential exit from the EU, with a 2.2% impact on growth rates a possible consequence of the fallout.

The survival of small businesses across Ireland hangs in the balance because of the Brexit issue, an industry body has warned.

THIRTEEN men living on two Limerick halting sites have made a major educational breakthrough for Travellers at Limerick Institute of Technology.

PEOPLE from more than 40 different nationalities are now attending adult education classes in Clare.