Freefall: from self-employment to unemployment

Rose, Joe, Jean and Gerard all worked for themselves. When the recession hit they had nothing to fall back on. Are things about to get better for Ireland’s 325,000 self-employed?

Lack of online presence means Irish SMEs losing out

Financial supports and poor broadband speeds hold companies back

Goodbody warns against failing to form government

Stockbroking company says that political uncertainty could harm Irish economy

Small firms say pay delay continues to lengthen

It now takes SMEs an average of 59 days to get paid, according to an Isme survey

Protect your business online and offline

Risk of physical attack will always be there, but new threats are emerging

Banks’ demands are hindering credit supply, says survey

Isme poll shows 43% of businesses who asked were refused loans in first quarter of 2015

Fraud protection should be a priority for businesses

The perpetrators often come from within the firm and are first-time offenders

Consumer prices down marginally in December

Isme warns of rising business costs despite new figures showing low inflation levels

Isme survey points to increased satisfaction with Government

Survey suggests business costs and Government’s dealings with banks remain concerns

Welcome back: small firms are keen to hire returning emigrants

Irish companies use various methods to let people abroad know about jobs

Christmas turkey price war begins to heat up

Independent butchers say big retailers are using birds as a loss-leading product

Hospital staff get three days’ leave to give up tea break

Irish Small and Medium Enterprises association rails against ‘costs’ and less ‘resources’

Almost half of SMEs refused credit by banks in past 3 months

Risk-averse banks not training officials appropriately to deal with firms, says ISME

Fine Gael plans tax reform for self-employed if re-elected

Taoiseach says party will commit to achieving tax equalisation by 2018 in manifesto

Self employed tax credit wins over business groups

Noonan aims to achieve ‘tax equalisation’ for self-employed and entrepreneurs in future

SME payment delays fall to record average low of 55 days

SMEs often face liquidity problems due to late payments by bigger clients, says Isme

Retail sales decline 4 per cent on a monthly basis

Sector with largest monthly increase was furniture and lighting which rose 13.2%

Pressure on banks as lending tightens up

Noonan to demand answers from bank chiefs on standard variable mortgages; businesses look for more credit as ISME reports drop in successful applications

Crime against business a ‘growing epidemic’, says Isme

Small business representative body calls for tougher measures to tackle crime

Analysis: Recovery is not yet being felt in rural areas

‘You can see the impact of recession in towns, just by how many people are idle’

Secondary teachers get pension lump sum of over €150,000

Figures show €76.34m was paid to out to retiring primary school teachers in 2014

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