Irish businesses are at risk of losing millions of euro every year due to sophisticated scams and fraud.

Enda Kenny made big claims five years ago. Yet businesses, and particularly SMEs, are facing the same old problems, writes Peter O’Dwyer

The soaring cost of insuring a car was the stand-out feature of the latest monthly inflation report.

A Government agency tasked with improving SME access to credit has recommended that business owners whose loans have been sold to vulture funds should tap friends and family for cash.

Ireland’s black economy is booming even as legitimate enterprises are enjoying record increases in sales.

Business lobby group Isme has called on the new Government to reappoint a minister with direct responsibility for small business.

Confidence amongst small business owners deteriorated significantly during the first quarter of the year, with both domestic and external factors feeding their economic uncertainty, a new report shows.

Late payments are continuing to threaten the future of many SMEs, while the change in examinership laws is not having the desired effect on smaller businesses either, two separate studies have found.

Gardaí are retiring with average lump sums of €100,000 on top of their pensions, which shows taxpayers are paying “over the odds” to fund generous packages.

Irish SMEs still face higher-than-average interest rates, despite slight decreases over the final quarter of 2015.

The Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association says there has been a slight improvement in the rate of refusals for loans to small businesses.

Irish internet users are being charged almost twice the EU average for crucial broadband services as consumers continue to pick up the tab, despite rip-off rates being repeatedly exposed in the past.

Almost half of loan applications from small and medium-sized business were rejected in the past three months, according to new figures.

A select group of local authority workers are set to lose the ‘rain’ allowance they have been receiving for lifting bins in wet weather.

The number of people signing on the dole fell by almost 2,000 last month.

Owners of small companies have no faith that criminals who target their trade will be brought to justice, at a time when the total cost of crime against businesses amounts to €1.62bn per year.

The Government has been called on to increase the number of so-called ‘activation schemes’ in a bid to tackle long-term and youth unemployment.

SME confidence took a knock during the first quarter of the year, as firms have become concerned about the length of time the economy is taking to recover, a survey shows.

Retail sales dipped marginally last month but still recorded significant growth on a year previously, latest figures from the Central Statistics Office show.

A leading business group has called for the “blunt instrument” minimum wage to be scrapped to help kick-start the economy, saying the legal pay level is stopping firms employing new staff.

IT’S a cartoon, drawn by artist William Hogarth in 1751. Entitled Gin Lane, it shows a crowded, chaotic, 18th century street scene, every detail of which tells the story of what one alcoholic drink — gin — was doing to the city life of the poor. 

Bristol City 0 West Ham 1: FA Cup Fourth Round: Sam Allardyce had warned his players about being another Premier League "victim" as Diafra Sakho’s late goal was enough to secure West Ham a 1-0 victory at Bristol City.

A group representing small businesses says it does not want to see an increase in employee wages this year.

Concern over businesses and non-domestic water customers

As many as 60,000 jobs could be created by small- and medium-sized businesses in 2015, but doubts over future employment levels and a potential loss of competitiveness remain a concern.

The chief executive of the Irish Small and Medium Enterprises association yesterday hit out at what he described as the ‘crocks of gold’ received by retiring university dons.

The Blackpool fan who was allegedly branded “a r****d” by Karl Oyston has called on the Tangerines chairman to resign.

Shoplifters are set for a €54m robbing spree this Christmas, targeting two-thirds of all retail outlets nationwide.

Isme has called for a statutory 30-day business-to-business payments ‘regime’ to be introduced, stating that the current prompt payments legislation has failed to benefit SMEs since being introduced 12 years ago.

Consumers are being urged to shop locally this christmas — it’s the best way to support the economy and the ‘home team’.

Banks are turning away fewer small and medium-sized businesses in search of credit than earlier in the year, according to a new report.

SMEs need more encouragement to avail of the €12bn public procurement market, with only 14% of them bidding in public sector tenders in the past 12 months.

A group of council workers celebrated yesterday after the Labour Court recommended they should receive an ‘eating onsite’ allowance.

Public sector workers earn on average 48% more than those employed in the private sector, according to figures from the Central Statistics Office.

An acute lack of trust in law enforcement and the judiciary is contributing to a huge increase in crime against small and medium businesses which is costing the sector €1.5bn a year.

Small and medium businesses are increasingly dissatisfied with the Government and its support of SMEs, according to a new report.

Strong motor sales drove a 6.2% increase in the volume of retail sales in May, compared to the same period last year. This represents a 0.9% monthly increase from April of this year, according to figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

The business environment for the SME sector remains challenging with sentiment either stagnating or dipping across a number of important indicators, according to Isme.

SMEs have become more dissatisfied with the Government since the turn of the year, with many citing the abandonment of annual lending targets for the pillar banks and a perceived failure to address rising business costs as the main reasons.