SFA Congratulates Peter Burke on his appointment as Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment

• SFA welcomes Taoiseach Simon Harris’s promises to provide support packages for small businesses.
• Taoiseach Simon Harris has acknowledged that small businesses provide good quality and stable jobs that fuel the wider economy.

Tuesday 9^th April 2024 - The Small Firms Association (SFA), the leading voice for small businesses in Ireland, congratulates Peter Burke, TD on his appointment as the new Minister for Enterprise, Trade & Employment. The SFA is confident that Minister Burke will enforce Simon Harris’s commitment to assist small businesses in the new administration. The SFA notes that in Simon Harris’s maiden speech to the Fine Gael Ard Fheis in Galway, he made a commitment to work with Government colleagues to develop a package to support small businesses.

Small firms account for 98 per cent of the total number of businesses in Ireland, employing nearly half of the private sector workforce. These businesses are the beating heart of our communities and are the social fabric of our economy. However, many businesses are struggling with increased business costs which threaten their viability. The transition towards the Living Wage poses a significant challenge, in addition to other labour-related regulations.

“The SFA has had positive engagement with Peter Burke in recent weeks and we look forward to working with him on how best to tackle issues related to rising business costs. The new administration has an opportunity to renew its focus to support small businesses which have been hit with unprecedented economic shocks in recent years. The SFA is due to publish its policy priorities for the elections in the coming weeks. The purpose of its policies is to curb business costs, ease the tax burden and provide upskilling support,” said David Broderick, Director of the Small Firms Association.

ENDS

Note to Editor:

The Small Firms Association proudly represents a diverse membership of businesses with less than 50 employees: homegrown and spanning every sector of the economy with members found in every town and every city in Ireland.

For SFA press releases, please contact SFA Public Affairs Lead, Jonathan McDade on 01 605 1688 or via email: jonathan.mcdade@sfa.ie.