Griffin: Small firms neglected

FORMER Wexford hurling star Liam Griffin has slammed the lack of response by the State to the plight of Ireland’s small businesses.

Mr Griffin, who managed the Wexford hurling team to AlI-Ireland success in 1996, is the managing director of Griffin Hotels, which he says is reeling from exorbitant insurance costs and a lack of leadership from the Government in the new economic environment. Over the past two years Mr Griffin says his public liability insurance costs have rocketed from €119,000 to €423,000.

In reality, the company could not afford to meet the new demands and as a result the hotel group has to bear the risk for the first €250,000 of any claim against it and that was the bottom line, said Mr Griffin.

While he said he was not going to roll over and vanish with the Celtic Tiger he said the lack of any sense of urgency by Government on the soaring question of rising costs for business was unbelievable.

Nobody wanted to take responsibility any longer in this country and the civil service was out of control. “It is in free fall”, he said.

On the crisis in Irish industry, Mr Griffin said: “I have two good friends who coach young lads with me, whose businesses have closed because they can’t afford insurance.”

“That’s what’s happening. But people are proud people. Like the small farmer they’ll stay home and be proud rather than stand up on this issue.”

Business needed to speak out coherently and honestly, he said, adding: “The time for flash is over and we need to leave behind the vulgar side of the Celtic Tiger.”

In particular Mr Griffin argued that the sums of money paid to the senior executives of some publicly quoted companies could not be justified under any circumstances. As a result of such excess, the modest small business was afraid to speak out because all business was tarred with the one brush, he said. “What relationship have I to Michael Smurfit for God's sake,” he asked. “I’m selling sweets out of a can on a street corner by comparison. Having said that I’m full of hope because I believe if we really articulate our point of view and hammer home the message we’ve every chance of doing well.

“The lack of urgency on the insurance issue is an unbelievable burden on small business. Another terrible problem is the lecturing about us having to pull in our horns. There are a lot of people out there that have their horns pulled in all the time and that’s the reality of the vast majority of people trying to do business.

“While Mary Harney is well intentioned it is hard to believe it will be over three years before there is any real action in this country to pull the insurance sector back into line.”