A Waterford TD says Ireland must reduce cost pressures on small and medium enterprises.
Mary Butler is the Chair of the Joint Committee on Business, Enterprise and Innovation. They published a report on the Cost of Doing Business today. They found that Irish businesses must confront excessive costs on a range of fronts that often make running a commercial enterprise unnecessarily difficult.
The report reflects a year of fact-finding and makes dozens of recommendations for reform. The Committee began studying stakeholders' written submissions in 2017 followed by eight months of gathering oral testimony from 30 organisations.
The report identifies and analyses six key drivers of uncompetitive costs:
- Insurance premiums
- Commercial rates
- Credit and banking
- Labour
- Skills shortages
- Retail crime
Committee Chair Mary Butler TD says Ireland must reduce cost pressures on small and medium enterprises, the bedrock of an economy facing the uncertainties of Brexit.
"SMEs are the most affected by the increasing cost of doing business in Ireland. Increases in their costs can threaten the viability of the business. Entrepreneurs who found and run small and medium enterprises assume all the risk and reward of the venture they undertake. Getting started and staying in business with all the associated costs can be extremely difficult," Deputy Butler said.
Launching the report on The Cost of Doing Business @irishrurallink @SenAidanDavitt pic.twitter.com/rkqhjtYl3Y
— Mary Butler TD (@MaryButlerTD) July 11, 2018
The report highlights witness complaints that the Book of Quantum - a data-driven guideline on how much compensation should be paid in personal injury cases – is not observed in many judgments. It recommends:
- Judges should provide a written explanation if they make awards in excess of Book of Quantum guidelines.
- The Book of Quantum should be improved to incorporate proposals from the Personal Injuries Commission and the Cost of Insurance Working Group.
- The Government should “examine the feasibility” of toughening the laws on perjury.
- An Garda Síochána should establish an insurance fraud unit.
- Claimants found by courts to have made false claims should face automatic referrals for prosecution.
The report notes that Irish banks’ prevailing interest rates and account charges remain significantly higher than European norms, putting Irish businesses at a competitive disadvantage. It calls on the Central Bank of Ireland to “take an active role in overseeing the fees charged by banks for the physical handling of cash.”
As part of its consideration of reducing labour costs, the Committee recommends:
- The Government should expand apprenticeship programmes to boost the supply of skilled workers.
- Intreo offices should better match skills gaps and training courses on offer.
- Work permits should be issued only in cases where the Irish labour market and training programmes have demonstrably failed to produce the skilled workers required.
