On the commencement of EU SME Week (3rd-9th October), organised by the EU Commission, the Chairman of the Small Firms Association, Ian Martin has emphasised the SME business priority and stated that small business policy should be at the heart of the EU’s economic recovery plan. He called on the Irish Government to prioritise the implementation of the principles of the EU “Small Business Act”, which “in the current economic crisis both in Ireland, Europe and Worldwide have great importance for small businesses.”
The SFA set out its key priorities for action which will encourage and support SMEs:
Easy access to Finance
Martin stated that, “access to finance remains the single biggest issue for the Irish small business community and the banks must improve their efforts to communicate with customers that they are open for business, and that decisions taken are coherent business banking decisions, based on an assessment of the business-person and their business plan rather than security and personal guarantees.” Martin also urged the EU Commission to undertake a review of European Investment Bank (EIB) lending on a member state basis, rather than the current situation in which the EIB solely make their funding decisions on the assessment of the intermediate banks requesting the funding.
Better Regulation: reduce administrative burdens
The impact of new legislative proposals on the competitiveness of European companies should be properly assessed.
“The Small Business Act emphasises the importance of designing SME-friendly legislation and reducing the administrative burden on small business,” said Martin. “There is nothing more irritating for a small business to devote time to non-productive activities in response to what often seems needless legislation. It is not just a question of applying regulatory impact assessment to new legislation, it is also necessary to go back on a systematic basis through legislation developed over the past 7 years and weed out those elements which impose an intolerable burden. Despite progress made to date, let there be no doubt these burdens continue to exist in the areas of statistical returns, employment law and Waste management. It is critically important that the Irish Government meet the European Council target of reducing administrative burdens by 25% by 2012”, stated Martin.
Fostering Entrepreneurship
There is broad agreement that increased entrepreneurial activity has a direct impact on EU and member states economic performance. The SFA believes that SMEs are vital for Ireland’s future economic progress and the Irish Government needs to develop a National Entrepreneurship Strategy. Martin stated: “promoting entrepreneurship should be one of the government’s top priorities, as new businesses starting up have proven to be a key contributing factor to economic growth, and thus it is essential that we have more entrepreneurs in times of recession.”
Innovation
“Recent announcements from the EU in relation to providing more resources to underpin innovation in small business is welcomed, however, it is important to distinguish between formal Research and Development and innovation. A very high percentage of small businesses in Ireland are not engaged in formal R & D, but have an acute need to innovate. Such innovation is critically important to the future success of any company, whether it be innovation in the way work is planned, the way in which products are processed and delivered or the way in which they are brought to market,” added Martin. “Supports must be properly targeted to take account of this”.
In conclusion, Martin stated “the small business community have shown time and time again that given the right economic conditions they can grow and create employment. The EU and the Government must act now to support enterprise, jobs and help companies become more productive and more innovative.”
For interviews, please contact:
Ian Martin,
Chairman,
Small Firms Association
Tel: 087 2533875
Patricia Callan,
SFA Director,
Tel: 01-6051602 or 087-6999345
e-mail: patricia.callan@sfa.ie
