| Date | Title | Description |
| 26.06.2026 | ISME urges Government to 'Think Small First' at Cork leadership forum | The Irish SME Association (ISME) has renewed its call for policymakers to put small businesses at the centre of economic decision-making after bringing together business leaders, entrepreneurs and policymakers for its Leadership & Netwo... |
| 31.08.2025 | Big mistake to spent National Training Fund to fund universities - ISME | ISME has expressed concern that the government is considering diverting some of the National Training Fund surplus to fund universities.
The small business representative group said the majority of SME employers believe any such move would ... |
| 23.07.2025 | ISME calls for Budget 2026 to cure Ireland’s Dutch Disease | ISME, the Irish SME Association, has welcomed the publication of the Government’s Summer Economic Statement but issued a strong warning that a far greater focus on indigenous enterprise is urgently needed to address growing imbalances in th... |
| 30.06.2025 | ISME criticises 'indefensible' plan to increase person injury awards | The Irish Small and Medium Enterprise Association (ISME) has heavily criticised government plans to raise personal injury awards saying it will simply go into the "pockets of lawyers".
The government is considering increasing pers... |
| 10.04.2025 | SME's lost over €17m to fraud in the last two years | Irish small and medium enterprises (SMEs) lost over €17m in the last two years through email-related scams.
According to new figures released by the fraud awareness initiative FraudSMART led by Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPF... |
| 10.02.2025 | Irish SMEs would face 'limited exposure' to EU tariffs on US imports | Irish small businesses would face "limited exposure" in the event that the EU imposes retaliatory tariffs as part of a trade war with the US, according to a flash survey by the Irish Small Firms Association (ISME).
Despite Brexit,... |
| 02.01.2025 | ISME lays out key priorities for 2025 | ISME has listed representation for small business on the Labour Employer Economic Forum and the introduction of a junior minister for SMEs among its top priorities for the year ahead.
The small business association said there are some 272,5... |
| 09.12.2024 | ISME appeals for 'vibrant buzz' on Irish main streets this Christmas | The business lobby group ISME have made a plea to shoppers to help keep 'a vibrant buzz' on their local main street this Christmas.
The group say every €1 spent locally on their Christmas shop could generate up to €4 in their community.
Not... |
| 20.11.2024 | Building a Homegrown Economy: The Case for Employee Ownership in Ireland | Ireland stands at a crossroads. The landscape of its economy is shifting. Multinational corporations have long been the darlings of the Irish economy, but their dominance is waning. The future lies in the hands of homegrown businesses. To n... |
| 19.11.2024 | ISME calls for next government to appoint dedicated SME minister | The Irish SME Association (ISME) has said the election of Donald Trump as US President means the policies adopted by the next government will be more consequential to businesses and workers.
The group would like to see the appointment of a ... |
| 04.10.2024 | Nearly half of SMEs say they are feeling 'more confident' after Budget 2025 | Nearly half of SMEs are more confident following the budget than they were before it according to a new survey.
However, despite the rise in optimism concerns remain about the ongoing skills shortage.
The survey carried out by accountancy g... |
| 03.10.2024 | Skillnet Ireland welcomes 22% funding increase from Budget 2025 | Skillnet Ireland, the national talent development agency for businesses, has welcomed the government's decision to increases its annual budget by 22% in Budget 2025.
Next year, the agency will receive Exchequer funding totalling €63m throug... |
| 02.10.2024 | Budget 2025: A Mixed Bag for Irish Businesses | Budget 2025 has landed, and the reactions are as varied as the colors in a painter's palette. The Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association (ISME) and the Irish Venture Capital Association (IVCA) have both weighed in, but their perspec... |
| 02.10.2024 | Budget 2025: A Breath of Fresh Air for Taxpayers and SMEs | Budget 2025 has arrived, bringing with it a wave of changes designed to ease the financial burden on individuals and small businesses alike. The measures introduced are like a gentle breeze on a hot summer day—refreshing and much needed. Wi... |
| 01.10.2024 | Tax changes 'putting real money back into income earners' pockets' | Tax changes that will put "real money" back into people's pockets included a reduction in the hated USC, while the inheritance tax threshold has been increased in Budget 2025.
Other measures announced by Minister for Finance Jack ... |
| 01.10.2024 | ISME hails infrastructure spending commitments in Budget 2025 | The Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association (ISME) has said Budget 2025 was not "a business budget" while hailing infrastructure spending commitments made by the government.
Responding to the announcement, ISME said the bud... |
| 09.09.2024 | ISME wants next government to prioritise housing and economic reform | The Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association (ISME) has urged political parties to address housing affordability and broader economic reforms in their manifestos ahead of the upcoming general election.
The next election must be held b... |
| 06.09.2024 | Harris makes budget USC pledge for self-employed | Taoiseach Simon Harris has made a pre-election promise to slash USC for high-earning self-employed people, writes Brian Mahon.
The Universal Social Charge adds 3% to rates paid by these workers on income over €100,000, meaning they pay a to... |
| 08.02.2024 | Labour costs and VAT rates the root cause of small business closures - ISME | The Irish SME Association (ISME) has hit out at increased VAT rates, a rise in the minimum wage and public/private sector support disparities in the wake of increased small business closures.
Welcoming a decision by Ibec to host a round tab... |
| 24.11.2023 | Dublin riots 'no surprise' to retail workers - ISME | The head of small business group ISME has said retail staff are afraid of "unrestrained thuggery, violence and theft" that occurs daily in their stores following a night of Dublin riots.
Gardai arrested 34 people after a far-right... |
| 05.07.2023 | ISME calls on government to tackle business fraud problem | The Irish SME Association (ISME) has called on the government to introduce urgent measures to tackle and reduce online and telephone business fraud, which is estimated to cost the SME sector €310m per year.
More specifically, the organisati... |
| 26.04.2023 | ISME calls for standard rate of income tax cut-off to be aligned with average wage | The Irish Small & Medium Enterprises Association (ISME) has called for standard rate cut-off on income tax to be brought in line with the average industrial wage, amounting to an increase €6,800.
In its Budget 2024 submission, ISME has ... |
| 09.03.2023 | ISME Roadshow to return with six events between March and May | The Irish SME Associations (ISME) has announced the return of its Roadshow series of events to towns and counties over the next three months.
In March, the ISME Roadshow team will visit Dublin city centre and Drogheda before hitting Thurles... |
| 28.02.2023 | Irish business reps to appear before Oireachtas enterprise committee | Representatives from Chambers Ireland, ISME and the Irish Exporters Association will appear before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment on Wednesday to discuss the concerns of SMEs.
Chambers Ireland CEO Ian Tal... |
| 16.11.2022 | Varadkar signals steep hikes in National Minimum Wage | The so-called Living Wage will be set at 60% of the median wage in any given year after government agreed to augment the National Minimum Wage in the coming years.
Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar has announced that the NMW will increase every... |
| 10.11.2022 | ISME urges consumers to Shop Local | The Irish SME Association (ISME) is calling on shoppers and businesses to Shop Local.
The campaign has been developed to promote products and services from SMEs across Ireland.
Neil McDonnell, chief executive at ISME, said: “Christmas 2022 ... |
| 27.09.2022 | Not enough support for pubs, households and small firms | The survival of many pubs will depend on the “successful and timely implementation of the energy support scheme”, says the Vintners’ Federation, but overall prospects for the trade remain depressed “as costs continue to increase while consu... |
| 27.09.2022 | Not enough support for pubs, households and small firms | The survival of many pubs will depend on the “successful and timely implementation of the energy support scheme”, says the Vintners’ Federation, but overall prospects for the trade remain depressed “as costs continue to increase while consu... |
| 14.06.2022 | ISME wants state to rein in spending | Small business lobby group ISME is calling on the government to rein in state spending in the Budget 2023, citing concerns about “continuous deficit spending” and “too many macro indicators of international recession”.
“ISME is not saying w... |
| 26.05.2022 | ISME partners with Swoop for ‘Finance Finder’ | A new business funding matching tool that promises to improve access to finance for businesses has been launched by ISME in partnership with Swoop Funding.
Swoop is a business funding and savings platform enabling businesses to discover the... |
| 24.01.2022 | Raise income threshold for social housing | The Irish SME Association (ISME) has renewed its calls for the taxation and social welfare systems to be integrated in a submission to the Commission on Taxation and Welfare.
ISME has recommended raising the standard rate cut-off point to 9... |
| 07.04.2021 | ISME Reports On Q1 2021 Trends | The first quarter Trends Report from Isme shows SMEs’ confidence in future sales recovering strongly this year, reaching positive figures for the first time since 2019.
Sales expectations reached 28%, up from -10% in Q4 2020 and a far cry f... |
| 18.02.2021 | Judges Under Fire Over Personal Injuries Vote | Business association ISME says it would be “unconstitutional” for a private vote of judges to alter the proposed guidelines for personal injuries awards drawn up by the Personal Injuries Commission.
Chairman Ross McCarthy has written to the... |
| 25.09.2020 | Virtual Discussion Of Brexit Reality | Small firms body ISME will hold a virtual Brexit discussion online on October 20 with the discussion led by Newstalk business editor Vincent Wall.
The event is sponsored by Skillnet Ireland and will focus on providing practical advice to Ir... |
| 18.08.2020 | Isme Wants Professional Training For SMEs | Business lobby group Isme is pressing for government to introduce a certification process to professionalise the small and medium enterprise sector.
The representative body has collaborated with Network Ireland and Griffith College to devel... |
| 06.08.2020 | Tax Revenue Overshoots Forecast By €5 Billion | Small and medium enterprises are more than twice as concerned about economic uncertainty than they are about Brexit, according to a trends survey from small firms lobby group ISME.
The organisation’s Q2 Trends Report and July Covid survey s... |
| 27.05.2020 | Government Cocoons While Small Firms Die | ISME fears the government is retreating into its cocoon with big business, big unions, the civil service and the semi-state sector, writes Neil McDonnell
ISME recently surveyed our membership and found that increasing numbers of SMEs would ... |
| 29.04.2020 | ISIP Calls For Examinership Reform | The Irish Society of Insolvency Practitioners is calling for urgent reforms to deal with the unprecedented challenges presented by Covid-19.
Jim Stafford of Friel Stafford, chairman of ISIP’s representation committee, said existing Examiner... |
| 31.03.2020 | Free Recovery Training From ISME | ISME and Griffith College are partnering for a series of free ‘Restart your Business’ online workshops from April 6.
The workshops will take place from 10.30am to 12.30pm, three times a week (Monday, Wednesday and Thursday) and will be avai... |
| 01.06.2017 | Employment Regulation Order To Hike Security Costs | Costs in the private security sector are set to rise following the award of a pay increase worth 8.4% over the next three years to around 17,000 security officers represented by Siptu.
The new Employment Regulation Order for the sector was ... |
| 13.07.2016 | Thumbs Down From SMEs For Government Efforts | SME owners in Ireland aren't impressed with the government's performance since it took office a few months ago, according to a survey carried out by the Irish Small and Medium Enterprises (ISME) association.
The survey is the first such one... |
| 11.07.2016 | Brexit Vote Erodes SME Confidence | Business confidence among SME owners in Ireland dropped virtually across the board after the Brexit vote, according to ISME’s second-quarter business trends survey, which was published today.
ISME recorded a drop in sentiment in 10 of the 1... |
| 16.09.2015 | What's In The Credit Guarantee Bill? | Minister for Business and Employment Ged Nash has published the Credit Guarantee (Amendment) Bill 2015, which aims to improve the uptake amongst SMEs of the credit guarantee scheme introduced in 2012.
Announcing the publication of the Bill,... |
| 07.09.2015 | ISME Puzzled By Credit Refusal Spike | SMEs approved for credit by banks dropped significantly in the three-month period June-August, according to ISME, which expressed concern at the trend.
ISME collated the responses of 928 SME owner-managers for its latest quarterly bank watc... |
