Employers will no longer be so heavily reimbursed for redundancy schemes as a special rebate is reduced from 60% to 15%, it was announced this evening.

The Irish Small and Medium Enterprises organisation ( ISME) says Irish business confidence is improving despite exceptionally difficult trading conditions.

The Irish Small and Medium Enterprise organisation has outlined that today's Budget has missed a significant opportunity to restore Irish competitiveness.

The Irish Small and Medium Enterprises organisation (ISME) has lambasted the decision by the Commissioner for Energy Regulation (CER) to approve a dramatic increase in gas and electricty prices.

TWO billion euro a year is being lost in tax revenue because spiralling costs are forcing Irish businesses to operate in the black economy.