The new taoiseach has promised to help struggling indigenous companies but the state of EU policies for small businesses shows many gaps to be bridged, writes Jonathan Keane in Brussels.
Stuart Fitzgerald’s accountancy firm Fitzgerald Power is seven months into a project to reduce the company’s climate impact. It’s been slow progress but he feels that they are getting somewhere.
The Commission wants invoices paid within 30 days, with one in four SME bankruptcies linked to late payment. But recent lobbying highlights concerns over unforeseen impacts for manufacturers.
Rural Ireland is blighted with extensive commercial decay. There are scars everywhere. Input costs for businesses continue to rise and profit margins fall. Can the model survive rampant entshittification?
A fifth of all non-real estate SME lending is now coming from non-bank sources. It is a profound shift in how businesses are funded in this state and shows that banks are no longer ‘backing brave’.
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