ISME calls for government action on business costs, including bank interest and charges.
ISME, the Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association, in response to the latest CPI figures of 1.7%, has demanded that the government reduce their costs on business and tackle the cynical bailed-out banks on their refusal to reduce interest rates in line with the ECB.
According to ISME Chief Executive Mark Fielding, “The small business sector does not have the price setting ability to increase prices to compensate for rising state influenced costs, with Utilities and Local Charges up 9.7% in the last 12 months, similarly they must benefit from an ECB cut in interest rates of 0.25%, otherwise our competitiveness is undermined and inevitably job losses will follow.
“Smaller businesses have been faced with increases in production costs over the last 12 months, many times greater than the official inflation rate recorded. This is having a detrimental impact on the performance of many enterprises, who cannot afford to pass on the increased costs, due to intense international competition.
“Now, to add insult to injury, the government has chickened out of imposing their will on the greedy bailed-out banks, allowing them to continue to gouge small & medium businesses, struggling to survive. The ECB specifically reduced interest rates to assist business across Europe, nowhere more needed than in Ireland. However, true to form, banks in Ireland have ignored the ECB, gave two fingers to our government and shafted SMEs, in a combined treasonous show of greed and arrogance,” continued Fielding.
“The Government has a key responsibility to the business sector to protect the SME from abuse by cynical bailed-out banks and it is imperative to rein in their greed. The government must also control the costs under its remit and introduce incentives to assist employment,” concluded Fielding.
