Coalition is failing us, say 75pc of small firms

THREE quarters of Irish small firms are unhappy with the Government’s performance on the banking crisis, according to the latest survey by ISME.

The Coalition also scored miserably for its job creation policies.

The respondents were asked to rate the Government’s performance on a five-point scale, from very satisfactory to very unsatisfactory.

It found that 74pc were unsatisfied overall with the Government on banking policy, while 35pc said they were ‘very unsatisfied’ with its performance on jobs.

The ‘report card’ on how Fine Gael and Labour are living up to their election promises to cut costs to business performed just as badly, with 76pc saying they were unhappy.

ISME chief executive Mark Fielding said: ‘The twin issues of access to finance and escalating business costs continue to plague the SME sector and are not receiving the attention from Government that they deserve, as is evidenced from this survey.

‘While still not a glowing endorsement, almost a quarter of the respondents are satisfied with how the Government is dealing with the overall fiscal situation, under the tutelage of the Troika,’ he added. Mr Fielding said the Government must quickly realise that the solution to the jobs crisis is dependent on tackling business costs and accessing finance.

‘The Jobs Initiative, long on aspiration and short on i mmediate actions, still has a long way to go to address the problem of unemployment,’ he said.

Business owners say they are more satisfied with the Government’s efforts to rein in spending, but the public sector remains a thorn in their side, the survey found.

Mr Fielding said that the Govern-

‘It has fallen short

on its promises’

ment has still not cracked the whip with the banks, which he claimed continue to be more of a hindrance than a help to businesses.

‘Overall, small and medium business is saying that the Government has fallen short on its pre-election promises and must do a lot more in the areas of social welfare, incentives to work, State-controlled costs and the continuing disaster that is their inability to stamp their authority on the errant and duplicitous banks, which continue to hamper the fragile recovery,’ he added.