- 1. Autumn 2010 EditionnF i n e G a e ls N ew s le t te r fo r t
h e B u s i n e ss C o m m u n i t y i n I re l a n dWorking with3
years on and only 4%of promised red tapereduction deliveredThree
years ago, the Government promised to reduce theunnecessary cost of
business compliance by 500 million. Intodays ercely competitive
business environment that is 500million that business cant afford
to part with. To date, past thehalfway stage, only 20 million in
savings have been achieved.Cutting out unnecessary red tape must be
a key part of a newGovernments agenda to make the Irish business
environmentcompetitive again.Why does the Government make such an
important promise andonly deliver on 4% of it? They cannot blame
the recession for thisfailure. It is part of what was recently
branded a Chronic ImplementationDecit Disorder, from which the
Government suffers.Only 6% ofjobs deliveredThe Creditunder
JohnReviewGovernmentOMahony TDOfce PRSI rebateWhat it schemecan
doLast December the Governmentfor you announced a refund
ofemployers PRSI to companiesthat hired people who had been6 months
on the dole. The targetIf youre a small business, sole trader or
farm owner who was 10,000 new jobs. Only 629has had difculty
getting credit or loan facilities of up jobs have so far been
supportedto 250,000 or you have had an unfavourable change to under
the scheme.your existing credit terms, get in touch with the
CreditReview Ofce for an independent review. Fine Gael believes
that allbusinesses need a PRSI reliefOnly 20 businesses have taken
up this option in the rstand not just those expanding.six months!
The banks are required to comply with the Our plan proposed to cut
allDAlton Street,recommendation or to give their reasons for not
doing wage bills by on average 3%.Claremorris, Co Mayo.so to the
Credit Review Ofce. The Ofce has overturned This plan would have
helpedthe Banks decision in four cases.Tel: 094 93 73560make 1.7
million jobs moresecure and make it cheaper toFax: 094 93
737339Call them on 1850 211 789 or visit online at www. Dil: 01 618
3706creditreview.ie where you will nd good advice on how hire new
employees.to approach your bank.Text: 086 326 8041Email:
[email protected]: www.johnomahony.ieBusiness Newslet J
OMahony.indd 101/11/2010 16:19:24
2. Fine Gael will rationalise State business inspections As part
of its upcoming policy on overhauling the public sector, Fine Gael
will propose a One Stop Shop for business inspections by State
bodies. Irish businesses face inspections from a growing range of
Government bodies, such as the National Employment Rights
Authority, the Health and Safety Authority, the Food Safety
Authority, the Environmental Protection Agency, and County
Enterprise Board funding still the local authorities. These
inspections down 10% from last year are often uncoordinated and
repetitious. Huge efciency gains for the State, and A Fine Gael
survey of all the County Enterprise Boards conducted at the end
offar lower compliance costs for business the summer revealed that
37% had no funding or severely limited support for can be secured
if they are consolidated new starts ups. Under pressure the
Government has now committed an extraunder one roof. 3.3 million.
However, this is still down 10% on the total funding allocated last
year. The number of applications to start a new business is up 20%,
but the Government has cut funds by 10%. The future of the economy
depends on people having the ingenuity and the courage to set up a
new business. The banks wont touch them and now we see the
Government abandoning them too. This makes a nonsense of the
Governments claim that enterprise and jobs are at the heart of
their strategy. It now seems that the County Enterprise Boards are
set to be integrated into Enterprise Ireland. SME loan guarantee:
Banks must be made compete for it The Government still hasnt woken
up to the realisation that NAMA Governmentis not providing a wall
of cash responsible for mostin credit for small business. It did
not take up the Fine Gael plan for of competitivenessa National
Recovery Bank, and now it is set to reject Fine Gael lossproposals
on a loan guarantee It is simply inexplicable why the Governmentfor
viable small businesses. hasnt produced a Competitiveness Action
Plan International experience has to tackle the competitiveness
agenda. The shown that a properly designed loan guarantee scheme
can 2010 Report on Irish competitiveness shows conne default to
1.5%. The a further decline in Irelands position. Of the 36
indicators of competitiveness which are target group would be
viable businesses who cant put upThe new Fine Gael in the red zone,
government is responsible for 20 of them! Yet there is no attempt
to the collateral or the guarantees sought. The banks would retain
Business Team go to work on these problems with a sense ofa
signicant share of the risk purpose. The Irish Government is a
persistentRichard Bruton - Enterprise, Jobs & (at least 25%).
Banks would be Economic Planning offender on costs for energy,
waste, water andrequired to bid every quarter communication. It has
refused to implementfor a slice of the cover, and be Deirdre Clune
- Innovation and Research an effective competition policy. Less
than half rewarded with bigger slicesJohn Perry - Small Business of
the recommendations of the Competition where they can show a record
of Authority on the legal profession, the health success. This will
not be another Kieran ODonnell - Deputy Enterprise sector, and
transport, have been implemented. way for the banks to unload bad
Spokesperson0612 High rent, too should be challenged.loans onto the
taxpayer. Business Newslet J OMahony.indd 201/11/2010 16:19:31
