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AN INCREASING NUMBER of small businesses are in danger of going to the wall because of late payments from big businesses and government agencies, a group representing small businesses has warned.
A survey found that small and medium businesses have to wait an average of 71 days before receiving payment with one in ten saying they’ve had to wait over four months.
Mark Fielding, the chief executive of the Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association (ISME), said businesses are being “thrown to the wolves”.
Fielding called on the government to intervene and force businesses and state agencies to pay on time.
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ISME’s survey of 610 businesses found that 40 per cent of companies are experiencing delays of three months or more in receiving payment, with 12 per cent waiting more than 120 days.
The survey found that businesses in Ulster have to wait the longest to be paid at 79 days while Dublin remains the fastest at an average of 68 days.
Construction businesses have to wait the longest out of all sectors to receive payment at an average of 77 days.
ISME called on the government to ‘name and shame’ anyone who is late making payments to SMEs.
“Because of abusive dominance of big business, cash flow in the entire SME sector is drying up and this, coupled with the lack of available and affordable credit from the bailed out banks, is putting many small businesses at risk, with the resulting threat of closures and job losses,” said Fielding.
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Won’t happen. Too much invested in the EU already by all parties. Nobody will leave and nobody will push for the dissolution of the EU no matter how much pain it causes to the average joe.
Don’t be silly, of course the EU/Euro policies are working.
The bond holders still have all their money and they are happily making more and more money speculating on the ups and downs of currencies and shares in these topsy turvy economic times.
The rich are still getting rich, the plan is working.
Yes, failing miserably (except for the rich elites, as already pointed out).
But there should be no surprise whatever.
Apply ‘austerity’ policies, which means removing money/spending from the aggregate economy, which means GDP falls & unemployment grows, which means our debt position either stagnates or even becomes worse. Precisely as happening.
It’s not rocket science, just ‘macro’ economics, tho’ it seems most mainstream economists struggle with it, but then who mostly pays +them+? (Back to our rich elites & bankers I think.)
Debt sustainability, employment etc comes from economic growth, not contraction by ‘austerity’.
And the good news is that even we in the Eurozone have an entity that can fund the stimulus spending required at no cost whatever to anyone – the ECB, if properly mandated to do so (under proper democratic control).
Learn about MMT economics & find out why. For serious students, a new textbook is due out later this year.
Two women dead and two children injured following collision in Cork
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16 hrs ago
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