Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
MOST IRISH SMALL businesses are feeling better about their financial prospects now than before the crash – but their fears about rising taxes and higher wage bills are still standing in the way of growth.
A PwC survey of Irish small- and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) found 54% of bosses thought their companies were in stronger shape now than before the financial crisis five years ago.
But a solid share, 27%, still thought their businesses were in worse financial health and 70% expected their expenses to keep growing, with a rising tax burden and labour costs among the biggest worries.
Overall the picture was positive for most traders and 87% said they were feeling good about the Irish economy for the year ahead.
The hurdles
High personal taxes and the number of new business tariffs that had been introduced recently were the chief concerns for most SMEs, although 78% of those surveyed said growing labour costs were the number-one threat to their growth.
“The challenge will be can these pressures be absorbed by the business and passed on to the market,” the report said.
Wage levels are critical as Ireland strives to remain competitive domestically and internationally.”
Nearly two-thirds of businesses said their inability to finance growth was a problem and only 28% said it was now easier to get a loan than a year ago.
SMEs in growth mode
PwC’s Brian Bergin said the surveyed showed most Irish SMEs were in “growth mode” and felt positive about their business prospects.
However, challenges still remain in this very important sector for Ireland including access to finance, skills shortages, wage pressures and increasing tax burdens,” he said.
The latest survey comes after another recent poll found a big share of SMEs were expecting to hire staff before the end of the year, although even more were forecasting their wage bills would rise before 2015.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Super news for Cork. Along with the 300 other jobs for Cork announced previously. It’s great to have these companies establish all around Ireland, not just in Dublin, Leinster. Also shows how fast competitiveness can be regained in a few years.
Quite a comeback considering the knock they took in 2008 – fair play to the last few holdouts in Tyco Cork who clearly kept the door open until opportunity knocked.
Excellent news for Cork..
500 hundred more jobs for Cork, 200 at the Tindell instutute,another 200 in The ex Pfizer plant in Ringskiddy makes 900 total, looks like a very good week indeed for the Rebel County.
What part of good news do some of you not understand? If it bring one family in Cork out of the dole queue it’s good news. Simple!
Thanks Enda :)
Enda has nothing to do with this. Governments don’t create jobs. Neither do businesses. Consumers do.
Enda creates the environment and the stability to attract these jobs, therefore it is everything got to do with our greatest ever leader :)
Enda leaves money under your pillow when you lose a tooth as well
Does anyone ever go back a few months/years after these big announcements and see/report how many jobs were actually created?
Genuine question. Talk is easy, and talk of x hundred jobs means very little till there are bums on seats. But it gets great publicity, for the company as well as the relevant happy minister.
It’s great news but the tax raised by these jobs + corporate tax will be cancelled quickly by the 2,000 extra jobs required by Irish water.
There are no “extra” jobs in Irish water. These people are alredy working for the various local authorities around the country and are being transferred to Irish Water.
Half of them work for local authority half are employed !!
Ever the opportunity to see a glass half empty!
Pathetic Gary.
How many of those rolls will be allocated to jobs bridge
Do you mean breakfast rolls Kev?
Bitter Kevy?
It’s a relevant question
Stand by for the political photo opportunity
Or standby for people finding out about TYCO. You couldn’t make it up
Coupled with the resounding success of job bridge for all non lazy people, and the endless new jobs created the whinging class of nobodies are fast running out if excuses for their lazy useless ways
I sympathize with you. It is a struggle to post opinions when you have a limited vocabulary (…for all non lazy people) and limited cognitive function.
It was announced today that Tyco will be purchased by Johnson Controls, a company that pays its CEO 21 million dollars per year.
have your say