One would be forgiven for believing there is an unwritten rule requiring participants in Irish referenda to engage in lies, half-truths, spin and obfuscation. In previous polls, widely-misleading claims were facilitated by poorly-executed Government-information campaigns and, with only a month to go before we descend on the polling stations again, it would seem that this time around is no different.

Fine Gael, Labour and Fianna Fail are all campaigning for a ‘Yes’ vote. Yesterday the Government formally kicked off its political crusade, yet instead of actually campaigning, it is still explaining the Treaty ramifications. Well, kind of explaining – it’s still very difficult to find an actual fact that stands up amid all the spin and propaganda.

It is not as if we have not had plenty of experience of this kind of thing. The 2001 Nice Treaty and the 2008 Lisbon Treaty, the two which were subsequently re-run to produce a ‘Yes’ vote, were both marked by an early failure to clearly explain the issues involved. More recently, last year’s referendum to give the Oireachtas more powers failed, despite having the backing of Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, Labour and Sinn Fein. It is generally agreed that voters back then voted ‘No’ because they did not understand the issues – not because they necessarily disagreed with the underlying proposition.

Three months after the Fiscal Treaty (now renamed the Stability Treaty by the Government spindoctors) was first mooted, recent polls suggest that only half of Irish voters understand what it is about. Our European neighbours will be unlikely to take solace from polls showing that almost half of voters intend to vote ‘Yes’ compared to about one in three who are in the ‘No’ camp. History, after all, has taught us that what Irish people say to pollsters in the days ahead of a referendum often bears little relationship to voting patterns on the day itself.

The confusion attaching to this referendum concerns three issues in particular; whether a vote for the Treaty is a vote for austerity, where we could go for a second bailout, and jobs. The austerity issue is based on a simple lie being pedalled, in the main, by Sinn Fein’s ‘Vote “No” to Austerity’ campaign.

The Treaty puts into law an existing requirement on countries which use the euro that their spending in any one year should not be greater than 103 per cent of what they produce, or to put it another way, that our budget deficit will not be greater than 3 per cent. You can still spend more than you make, but not much more. It is difficult to see how, in the short to medium term, this will affect Ireland at all. You see, last year we had a deficit of 13.1 per cent, which was the highest in the EU, and this year we will try to get it down to about 8.5 per cent, irrespective of what way we vote on 31 May.

Even with all of the cuts and increased taxation which that reduction will require by 2014, the general consensus among economists and other informed commentators is that we will still need a second bailout of €10bn just to keep the show on the road, to keep paying nurses, teachers and gardai.

In the current market it is difficult to predict what will happen in three months, never mind in three years, but nobody expects we will be able to source that money from the markets.

By the middle of next year the only European mechanism open to us for such a bailout will be the ESM (European Stability Mechanism). Of course – and despite some recent Government spiel to the contrary – we could ask the IMF (International Monetary Fund) for more money and they might even give it to us, but most punters believe otherwise. (And even if they did decide to give us money, they most certainly wouldn’t be offering us enough.) The question, therefore, is whether we want to gamble our economy, not to mention tens of thousands of public service jobs, on such an obvious long-shot.

So, yes, we could ask the IMF for money but if it were minded to be generous it would have to break its only rules on how much it would give out. We are already getting three times as much as we should be getting from the IMF and so even the most optimistic experts, those who think the IMF would be generous again, think it is unlikely to hand out the entire €10bn.

In those circumstances the IMF would also likely require us to balance our budget immediately. This is why those who favour austerity, including radical cutbacks in the public service, might be well advised to vote against the Fiscal Treaty.

This is not a right-wing line. Take Jack O’Connor, the head of the SIPTU trade union and a man I suspect gets invited to very few right-wing dinner parties. He recently told an Oireachtas committee that although he did not like the Treaty he saw no ‘viable alternative’ because without the Treaty Ireland would have to embark on even greater austerity.

So how does the pained position of the head of Ireland’s largest trade union and the equally pained position of almost all of our most reputable economists sit with Sinn Fein’s ‘Vote “No” to Austerity’ campaign? Frankly, it doesn’t. But saying you are against austerity always goes down well with the voters, so Sinn Fein’s efforts will probably serve the party well.

Then there’s the jobs isue. Now, if there is one thing which an uninformed voter likes more than anti-austerity rethoric it is pro-jobs balderdash. And so we have many on the ‘No’ side saying that we should vote against the Treaty because it does not create jobs. They’re right. It doesn’t. Nor does it fight crime, improve education or make you a cup of tea in the morning.

The point is accurate but irrelevant. Into this mix has also come the not unreasonable suggestion that more could be done to persuade Irish pension funds to invest in Ireland. Yet nothing in the Treaty would prevent this.

The Treaty is simply not about jobs, although the more dishonest campaigns around the Treaty invariably are.

That such misleading campaigns are doing the rounds was entirely predictable – if somewhat disappointing at such a serious time for the country. That the Government is failing to give us ‘the facts’, however, is also disappointing – and not good enough. What we need is clarity, not waffle and confusion – it’s day one, and the confusion is deeper than ever.

The Government and the ‘Yes’ campaign now have only four weeks to use clear, easily-understood points to counteract all the confusion that is out there, for it is this confusion that continues to allow the lies to take root.

For its part, the real ‘No’ campaign, as opposed to Sinn Fein’s attempt to use this issue to increase its popularity, would be well advised to stick to the real issues. Four weeks is not a long time, but it is long enough for misleading campaign tricks to be unmasked. 

Whichever way we vote at the end of the month, it should be based on an open, honest and comprehensive debate. Ireland and Europe deserve no less.

Last week we, the beleaguered people of Ireland, were given not one but two reasons to be hopeful that the tide, or at least a significant portion of the tide, is turning in our favour. Both events not only have very significant long-term implications for the Irish economy, but also suggest that our political reputation from Europe to China is improving dramatically.

In China our National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the China Investment Corporation (CIC) which, with about $410bn to invest, is one of the richest investment funds in the world. Meanwhile, closer to home Patrick Honohan, the governor of the Central Bank signalled quite unequivocally that we are on the cusp of a deal on the €3.1bn Anglo Irish Bank IOUs which fall due in the next few days.

The NTMA not only manages Irish debt but also is the vehicle used to hold the State’s stakes in the Irish banks. So it is not a stretch to say that in the course of one week we have managed not only to side-step a potentially crippling drain on our national finances but have also cleared the first hurdle in getting the world’ richest State to take at least some of our banks off our hands.

Over the past four years we have not had too many good weeks but this is certainly one of them. MoUs and their ilk are often empty vessels used by State and state institutions for meaningless PR opportunities. The most important person in the room is often the photographer and once the photos appear in the paper the accords are quickly forgotten.

Yesterday’s deal was different in that it came wrapped in an awful lot of political capital. The deal was witnessed not only by our own Enda Kenny but by Chinese President Wen Jiabao. This is not likely to be a piece of paper to be filed away and forgotten.

To put the deal into context the EU and many of its member states have been very busy over the last few months trying to court China with little or no success. Most will look enviously at Ireland’s rapidly improving relations with the world’s second-largest economy.

There is a certain momentum to those relations with yesterdays’ accord coming shortly after the visit of official visit to Ireland of Xi Jinping, the man tipped to the next Chinese president.

It does not do to get carried away with ourselves. Indeed it is likely that a lot more Chinese people watched Irishman Mark Allen lose to Ricky Walden in yesterday’s first round of the China Open in Beijing that took any notice of Enda Kenny. But in China the people you want to notice you are at the very top and having current and incoming leaders endorse your country counts as success in any of the Chinese languages.

Aside from what it means for potential Chinese investment in Ireland yesterday’s deal will certainly help Enterprise Ireland to realise it’s ambition of growing indigenous Irish exports to China by 15pc this year. China takes about 2.7pc of the goods we export but multinational firms account for about 94pc of that figure so there is plenty of scope to increase the footprint of the 200 or so Irish-owned firms selling into the Chinese market.

So we are getting on famously with the Chinese. We are also, it would seem, getting on pretty well with our European partners, the guys holding many of our current purse strings. We already knew that a deal was in the offing on the promissory notes. Finance minister Michael Noonan would not have put his political reputation on the line by suggesting as much were he not all but certain. That said politicians can be somewhat optimistic at times a look of people in Irish financial circles were heard to exhale yesterday when Mr Noonan’s prognosis was confirmed by the Central Bank chief.

The promissory notes were a big deal both economically and politically. As the promissory notes represent about 2pc of GDP, or what we produce as a country every year, they are very significant. Put it this way. The two biggest issues in Irish politics right now are probably the household charge and the EU Treaty at the end of April on the new fiscal compact. In pure cash-flow terms the amount saved by being able to long-finger the promissory note payment is a whisker shy of 20 times the €160m which will be raised by the hated household tax in one year. Phil Hogan, the Minister for the Environment may be having sleepless night but while it would be a stretch to say that Mr Noonan is now sleeping soundly he’s certainly a little less restless in the bed than he may have been a week ago.

The only political objection to the deal on the promissory notes came from Sinn Fein’s Pearse Doherty who bemoaned the fact that the 6.8pc interest rate on Government bonds which will be used to replace the promissory notes is on the high side.

Mr Doherty’s point is technically correct but irrelevant as the 6.8pc rate of interest will be paid by IBRC, the state-owned merger of Anglo Irish Bank and Irish Nationwide to the government itself and so does not involve any cost to the Exchequer.

The promissory-note deal, which has yet to be finalised, will not of itself deliver a yes vote in the referendum but it does remove from the No side what might have been one of the most significant weapons in their arsenal.

Remember we issued €31bn in promissory notes to help pay the €35bn cost of bailing out Anglo Irish Bank and while these days the unsecured and unguaranteed bondholders only account for about €1bn of this (the rest is owed to our own Central Bank) the no side would very likely have chosen to deliberately confuse the issue of the promissory notes with the issue of bailing out bondholders.

Assuming it goes ahead the promissory note deal also speaks to our long-term relations with the EU. It’s economics chief Olli Rehn came out yesterday to say that he supports a “readjustment” of the cost of the promissory notes. And if we can do it once why not do it again.

Our economy is still crawling along the floor but at least we now have sight of a better future and reason to hope that it can be realised.

Irish entrepreneurs are our new heroes. Like heroes of legend they take on seemingly insurmountable obstacles, usually in circumstances which appear impossibly difficult, to deliver an essential good to society at large.

According to the most recent Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) in 2010 there were about 800 entrepreneurs a month willing to take on hero status. That’s a far cry from the peak of 2005 when 10pc of the adult population was involved in a start-up company, but a different status applies to those willing to risk their savings, time and sanity during the Great Recession to those who were looking to move into business at a time when the country was awash with money, when banks were tripping over each other to hand out loans and everybody thought the party would go on for ever, or at least until it met with the proverbial “soft landing”.

This is why today in the midst of a financial and economic crisis which is more pronounced than almost anywhere else in the EU we still manage to rank as the second most entrepreneurial of its members. We need to applaud our heroes.

Fair play to Enda Kenny, the representatives of Enterprise Ireland (EI) and the other officials and politicians currently engaged in what appears to be a very successful trade mission to China, the world’s second largest economy. Although our official representatives deserve praise they know that whatever happens they will still be paid a salary at the end of the month.

As a politician Mr Kenny is possibly the most vulnerable of the group as his political future can change from election to election. But even in the unlikely event he were ousted in the morning the extremely generous pension we pay to former politicians means he would never face material need.

Not so the representatives of the 90 indigenous companies in his train. China takes about 3pc of what we export but indigenous Irish companies account for only about 6pc of that figure. It is laudable that Enterprise Ireland hopes to increase indigenous exports to China by 15pc this year but delivery on this target will come down, not to officials but to Irish entrepreneurs.

It is they who will put valuable capital on the line, who will resist the natural temptation to hunker down and hope they survive the recession, to find not only the financial but the psychological resources to drive growth in a country where potential comes dressed in risk.

Some of the prizes these entrepreneurs will bring back to us the masses are easy to recognise. More jobs at a time when one in seven potential Irish workers is going idle and increased tax revenue which can offset the need for more austerity taxes on the common people. Some of the prizes need to be polished up and carefully examined to be properly appreciated.

It is generally accepted that of itself the Government’s austerity programme cannot work. Reducing domestic demand (the ESRI expects private consumer expenditure will fall by 2pc this year) can only work if we have a thriving indigenous export sector which can offset the domestic contraction. In other words our entrepreneurial heroes are delivering strategic as well as material prizes to the rest of us.

“Strategic” is an important word when it comes to entrepreneurship. Back in 2007 only 6pc of entrepreneurs were motivated by necessity. Today one in three entrepreneurs started a company because they felt they had no other choice. Necessity is not the ideal maternal figure. Many of those forced into entrepreneurship have lifestyle business which will only ever employ the entrepreneur themselves.

It other to move those entrepreneurs, these nascent heroes, beyond this thinking it is necessary that they be exposed to the same culture and supports which typify the Irish companies attacking export markets around the world.

This is why it is worrying that there is a turf war going on over the soon-to-be-disbanded County Enterprise Boards. These are the bodies tasked with fostering start-ups with fewer than 10 employees who may not yet have overseas ambitions but from which the next batch of exporters will inevitably be sourced.

One might think it obvious that they would be merged into EI and indeed this is what was originally suggested. There they could learned at the hands of accomplished trainers and be exposed to the philosophy of innovation and entrepreneurship which pervades that organisation. Yet it seems Phil Hogan’s Department of the Environment has a fought a very successful campaign to ensure the 35 boards are subsumed into the local authority network. EI will have a notional involvement but according to one source the top echelons at EI privately admit that they have emotionally moved on.

At a time when local authorities are facing into their own challenges, what with potential mergers and the demand of collecting a plethora of new and disputed charges, we are also asking each of them to develop overnight a culture of entrepreneurship. Few are optimistic this will be achieved.

This is not how you foster and nourish heroes. If Enda Kenny wants to ensure he has a batch of entrepreneurs to accompany him on his next mission to China he should tell Big Phil to concentrate on delivering the household charge and dramatically cutting the cost of the local authority network and leave supporting enterprise to the departments and agencies obviously better suited to that role. In the meantime let us laud the new heroes.

This popular HEMP workshop focuses specifically on cost-effective initiatives that will generate sales in a tougher economic climate. This session includes a number of new case studies which feature marketing ideas with little or no cost. The high level of interactivity will enable Vistage delegates to see ideas they can immediately implement within their own business.   To learn more click here and register for the workshop.

This was the percentage of refused business-loan decisions which were overturned on appeal to the CRO. It is a remarkable number. A cursory analysis suggests that in over half of all refused cases the two “Pillar Banks”, AIB and Bank of Ireland, which between them account for the vast bulk of all business lending, got their decision-making wrong.

There is some truth to such an analysis but, according to John Trethowan, the head of the CRO, much of the blame lies with the businesses themselves.

Mr Trethowan is far from ploughing a lonely furrow. The Department of Finance, the head of small business at AIB and the head of the Small Firms Association all agree that there are very simple steps which many businesses fail to take when looking for a loan or seeking to have an existing facility restructured.

But firstly to the banks. According to Mr Trethowan’s report  they are being too tight by far.

It says: “I (Mr Trethowan) continune to see too many cases where the fundamental and common-sense question of whether the bank will get its money repaid is being crowded out by adherence to overly-rigid lending policies and procedures.”

It is no surprise that the big banks, having been thoroughly lambasted for giving out too much money too easily during the boom-and-bubble years have recoiled too far. “Some of the barriers which the banks have put up are subtle,” said Patricia Callan, head of the Small Firms Association. Many businesses faced with a raft of paperwork when they go to look for a loan are not looking any further.”

The banks’ decision to work with accountancy bodies to come up with a standardized application procedure should ease this burden. Irrespective of whatever streamlining procedures are put in place the new reality is that businesses looking for credit have to provide more information. And that’s how it should be.

Gone are the days when getting a business loan was as simple as walking into the bank manager’s office or putting up a property as security. In many of the cases where the CRO overturned refused-credit decisions Mr Trethowan’s office worked closely with the applicant to put together more robust figures in support of their case. The referee, it seems, is morphing into a mentor, and nobody is complaining.

Mr Trethowan said: “Our mandate is to support small business and so we have a team of lenders and financial experts who look at each application. We find that the more an experienced lender looks at an application the more likely we are to be able to make a proposal which involves the bank getting its money back.”

It’s not just about paperwork. It’s about getting applicants to analyse their own cashflow.

According to John Irwin, the man responsible for SMEs at AIB, many businesses are not taking time to look at their own numbers. He said: “All too often the business are too busy making widgets to step back at look at things such as cashflow. That sort of analysis is not only good for the banks; business people need to realise that they need it for themselves.”

The key word now is “viability”. According to the CRO formal applications from “viable” business stand a good chance of being successful. What is or is not a viable business is explored in detail in “Your Business Your Bank” the 2010 report of the Government’s Credit Supply Clearing Group, which is essential reading for any business person considering walking in to a bank.

Of course not all businesses are viable. Mr Trethowan said: “Some businesses are past the point of no return. They have been fundamentally weakened by too much debt.”

It is far from easy but businesses strapped for cash need to realise that there are sources of funding other than bank debt. In particular many would benefit from new equity which often comes from friends and family.

Mr Trethowan quotes American figures which show that 70pc of start-ups there are funded by a combination of “friends and family” and, more surprisingly, credit cards.

He would not give figures on what proportion of the €3bn in loans which both AIB and Bank of Ireland were required to make last year was fresh credit and what was restructured debt. He did, however, say he was comfortable with analysis by accountancy firm Mazars which suggests new loans account for only one third of bank lending.

Many businesses, it seems, are easing cashflow problems by spreading their loans over a longer period or are extending loans which come up for repayment. Although some organisations, such as ISME, are critical of the level of restructured loans it is easy to see why in the current market businesses themselves might be more focused on survival than expansion.

That trend does not look like it will abate any time soon. Yesterday {adapt}, on the same day we learned that Irish and other European banks have taken up €530bn of three-year liquidity money from the ECB our own Central Bank revealed that lending to businesses fell by 2.2pc in the year to the end of January 2012.

This will not make it easier for the pillar banks to meet their new business lending targets, which have been increased to €3.5bn each this year rising to €4bn in 2013. That said the CRO, which said that the 2011 targets were only met after “robust discussions” between itself, the pillar banks and the Department of Finance, is determined to keep all eyes on the credit ball.

By Tom McEnaney

Frank O’Keeffe, partner-in-charge of the programme said: “Despite the numerous difficulties faced by our island’s economies and business in recent years, Ireland is trying hard to show the first real shoots of recovery. Fuelled by an unparalleled level of dedication and commitment, it is our entrepreneurs who are the true trailblazers and champions who will reignite our economy. Ireland’s entrepreneurs continue to push the boundaries of possibility and deliver a brighter future for all.”

Entries for the 2012 Entrepreneur Of The Year can be made in any one of three categories – Emerging, Industry, and International. A nominee must be an owner-manager who is primarily responsible for the recent performance of a company that is at least two years old. Founders of public companies are eligible provided the founder is still active in management, and anyone can nominate an entrepreneur, including the entrepreneur himself or herself, employees or company advisors.

A panel of judges, chaired by Padraig O’Ceidigh, chairman Aer Arann and recipient of the award in 2002, will select the shortlist, to be announced in May. 

Entry forms are available on http://www.eoy.tv or by contacting Ernst & Young on 01 221 2250.

The closing date for nominations is 30 March 2012.

Following the announcement of 24 finalists from across the island in May, those short-listed will travel on a CEO retreat to Silicon Valley where they will avail of the chance to further enhance and develop their entrepreneurial skills, increase their business network, share their commercial experiences with local entrepreneurs, and develop lifelong peer relationships with others in the Entrepreneur Of The Year community along the way.

In October 2012, all finalists, their guests and other luminaries of the entrepreneurial community will gather at a celebratory Entrepreneur Of The Year banquet that will be broadcast to a worldwide audience via RTE Television and online. Here, their stories and achievements will be acclaimed, culminating in the announcement of three individual category winners in addition to that of the overall recipient of the 2012 Entrepreneur Of The Year accolade.

The overall winner will then go forward to represent Ireland at the World Entrepreneur Of The Year finals in 2013, where he or she will compete with over 55 country winners for this prestigious global title. Most recent winners of the overall award here in Ireland, Joe Hogan – chief technology officer, and Niall Norton – chief executive officer, of Openet, were presented with their 2011 Entrepreneur Of The Year™ accolade by former President of Ireland, Mary McAleese, last October.  Joe and Niall will now go forward to represent Ireland at the 2012 World Entrepreneur Of The Year™ Awards which will be held in Monte Carlo in June.

While belated it is welcome that a new set of laws designed to reform Ireland’s “arcane” bankruptcy laws has been passed at cabinet level.

The Personal Insolvency Bill, was launched earlier in the week, under which debtors will be allowed to emerge from bankruptcy after three years rather than the current 12.

The proposed Bill also includes new voluntary non-judicial debt settlement systems aimed at providing alternatives to formal court insolvency, such as the introduction of a personal insolvency arrangement for the agreed settlement of both unsecured and secured debt of more than E20,000.

Minister for Justice Alan Shatter said that “when enacted this legislation will be one of the key legislative instruments for addressing the financial difficulties of general insolvency; mortgage debt and negative equity,” he said.

A new not-for-profit scheme, Hireland.ie, is hoping to help facilitate the creation of 5,000 jobs in the first six months of this year in an initiative to encourage employers to hire now rather than putting it off.

Hireland wants to draw on the power of the collective and act as a catalyst to stimulate job creation. They want firms across the country to pledge a new opening in the company.

According to the founders, it’s about a positive, confident movement, where one job will lead to another if Irish businesses get on board and pledge a job.

Gerard O’Neill co-founder of Hireland said : “A sure way of future proofing your business is to hire more people. By recruiting more people into the business, a company will experience immediate and direct benefits.”

Ireland’s media industry has played its part and has given E500,000 worth of  advertising space to support the launch of the initiative. Hireland’s campaign includes newspaper, television, radio and outdoor advertising, as well as digital and PR activity.

An Enterprise Ireland Pilot Competitive Feasibility Fund worth E200,000 aimed at stimulating start ups and creating jobs in the South East, has been launched.

The closing date for applications is 30th January 2012, and it is expected that the first awards will be made shortly after that.

Funding of up to E25,000 will be provided to start-up companies with job-creating potential in the South East region. Companies in the ICT, industrial and food sectors based in Waterford, Wexford, Carlow, Kilkenny and South Tipperary will be eligible to apply.

The purpose of the Pilot Competitive Feasibility Fund for the South East Region is to accelerate the growth of start-up companies that have the capability to succeed in global markets.

A little later in the year is the Atlantic Conference 2012 on March 29^th.  The conference provides a forum for all those involved in education and enterprise to learn about the impact of Science Technology Engineering and Maths (STEM)  education in our economy and society.

In particular the conference provides a forum in which participants can benefit from international best practice and this year is no exception.

Speakers at this year’s conference include Ward van Duffel, managing director of LEGO Education Europe.

Leena Gade, Audi Sport’s chief Race Engineer is no stranger to problem solving and creative thinking. The Aerospace Engineering Graduate become the first female engineer in 2011 to have a car win the legendary Le Mans 24 Hour Race. She will be speaking at the conference about how an early love of engineering and cars led her to a career with Audi Sports and her master-minding her car’s win at one of the most gruelling races in the history of Le Mans..

The Conference Keynote Speaker is Carol Lynn Parente, executive producer of Sesame Street. Everyone’s favourite children’s show has a record 138 Emmy Awards and since 2011 it has focussed much of its educational work on creating a love of STEM subjects in young children.

www.eventelephant.com/atlanticconference2012

Services shrinking ↓

Ireland’s services sector shrank for the first time in a year in December as global economic turmoil undermined confidence and new orders fell sharply, a survey showed.

Foreign Investment ↑

The IDA landed a record number of foreign investments in Ireland (148) last year with a net gain of 6,000 jobs at IDA supported firms as exports surged, its year-end statement said.

Business Sentiment improves ↑

Ireland was the only EU State where business sentiment improved in the past year, the latest Grant Thornton International Business Report for 2012 showed. Over 70pc of Irish businesses expect profitability, revenue and selling prices to improve in the coming year but it will be a jobless recovery with just 15% of Irish companies expecting to increase employee numbers.

No Rises Expected ↓

The majority (58pc) of Irish professionals say they expect no pay rise this year, although 21pc predict that salaries will increase, albeit modestly, by approximately 1pc to 5pc.

Firms Collapse ↓

Nearly 170 companies collapsed every month in the first 11 months of 2011, owing near E1.2 billion in debt, according to the latest figures from VisionNet. It said that 1,930 Irish companies failed in the months from January to December – up 20pc on the same period a year earlier.

Manufacturing Down ↓

Irish manufacturing firms recorded a second straight fall in their operating conditions during December, the latest NCB Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) showed.

Sick Proposal ↓

Small and medium sized business lobby group, ISME, has slammed the Government for its “absurd” proposal to transfer responsibility for paying sick pay in the first month of illness from the Department of Social Protection to individual employers.