Restaurant owners will not need to get planning permission to turn their businesses into takeaways.

The minimum wage official rises to €10.10 per hour from today.

I wonder if children had a choice, would they prefer if we got our act together to tackle climate change or bought them an array of presents from a bumper toy store, asks Joyce Fegan

A business umbrella group has hit out at new Government rules allowing up to 60,000 parents to take two extra weeks of paid leave in the first year of their child's life, claiming it will damage firms and is not based on any "common sense".

A Government pledge for a new start in the way it treats Irish small firms has been welcomed by business groups as it prepares to unveil in the autumn a new policy for SMEs under the auspices of the OECD.

Confidence levels amongst Irish SMEs have slumped to a record low, although firms based in Munster are the most optimistic, according to a survey.

The Small Firms Association has branded the decision to grant a near 3% increase in minimum pay rates for building and electrical contractors "disappointing" and said the move will make it more difficult for small companies in the sector to compete.

Minimum rates of pay for workers in the construction sector are set to rise by 5.4% while rates in the electrical sector will increase by 2.7%.

Philip O’Leary, managing partner of Cork law firm FitzGerald Legal & Advisory, has been appointed as a board member to the Irish Banking Culture Board (IBCB), funded by Ireland’s five main retail banks with the aim of rebuilding trust in the sector.

An estimated 43,000 commuters from the county are using the main arteries into Cork city centre every morning, a data analytics report has found.

Chemists, electrical goods retailers and hardware outlets are the big winners from a continued rise in consumer spending levels over the past three months, while pubs and bars largely lost out.

The business body says recent increases are costing small companies over €20,000.

It says there's been too much focus on foreign direct investment from multinationals, despite the fact that small homegrown businesses account for 98% of companies here.

Thousands of people remain without electricity and water this morning, while water rationing may be imposed in some areas as the country struggles to recover from the ravaging Beast from the East.

The Small Firms Association has said economic growth cannot be taken for granted.

The Small Firms Association (SFA) has urged the Government to be more “ambitious” in its spending approach, in the October budget, by increasing capital expenditure to 4% of GDP.

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.

Striking bus drivers marched through the streets of Dublin yesterday but the issue in Cork City and other areas affected by the continuing dispute is the opposite: A noticeable drop in footfall.

The Government may make millions of euro worth of special state aid available for firms at risk of a Brexit backlash due to growing concerns of the damage that could be caused to the economy.

The Government has been urged to give thousands of businesses special funding after Britain confirmed ‘hard Brexit’ plans that could cause widespread job losses across Ireland.

Business groups on both sides of the Irish Sea said they were dismayed by prime minister Theresa May’s hard Brexit plans.

Juno McEnroe meets unions, employers groups, and politicians who give their take on the wave of pay disputes

Even in a budget with very little room for manoeuvre, this Government has missed an opportunity to address the many issues facing entrepreneurs, which would assist them in providing additional employment and driving prosperity all parts of the country.

The Small Firms Association (SFA) has urged the Government to bring capital gains tax (CGT) back down to 20%.

The Small Firms Association has called for a new 10% capital gains tax rate and said that spending on capital projects remains at dangerously low levels.

HAVE you ever pulled a sickie? If so, you’re not the only one. 

A recommended 10c increase in the national minimum wage — outlined to government yesterday and due to be considered as part of the October Budget package — has been widely-slammed as being anti-business and potentially damaging to Ireland’s competitiveness.

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

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.

Business representative bodies called for the Government to ensure that Ireland is at the forefront of upcoming negotiations as the fallout from the UK’s decision to leave the EU began to hit home.

Here’s a briefing on some of the stories and issues highlighted on irishexaminer.com today

It is vital that ongoing negotiations on the formation of the next government deliver a clear, comprehensive agreement that will ensure the next administration is in a position to run its full term.

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.