Minister Ged Nash KEEPING IN TOUCH WITH BUSINESS Spring/Summer 2015 We have had seven difficult years but we can now look forward with confidence to a brighter future. After a period of national bankruptcy and mismanagement our economy is surging ahead and we now have the fastest-growing economy in Europe. Budget 2015 saw the first income tax cuts for working people in many years. The numbers out of work in Louth have fallen by over 20% in the past three years. Nationally unemployment is down to 10% and it will be reduced to single figures in the next few weeks. As the economy continues to expand I will make sure that small business owners get the opportunity to take home their hard earned income. I am working hard as Minister for Business and Employment to deliver a recovery that supports enterprise and that rewards work.
REVITALISING RETAILING AND OUR TOWN CENTRES Revitalising retailing and our town centres is important to me which is why I hosted the recent meeting of the Retail Consultation Forum in Drogheda. The Forum, which I chair, brings the retail industry and Government together, to identify practical measures that can be taken to support the retail sector and grow and maintain jobs. Drogheda has some great examples of initiatives taken to support businesses during the recession. It was the first town to adopt the ‘Local Heroes’ project championed by Senator Fergal Quinn in 2011 to encourage towns to work together to overcome the difficulties caused by the economic downturn. At the event, attended by members of the Retail Consultation Forum, Chamber of Commerce and Louth County Council, local retailers shared their experiences of supporting businesses through the recession and looked at how to maximise opportunities as consumer confidence begins to grow again. There are valuable lessons to be learned which I as Minister for Business and Employment believe we can now apply to the retail sector in a growing economy, rather than one which is in the depths of a crisis. The recovery in the retail sector is modest but it is definitely going in the right direction and the Forum was an ideal opportunity to examine how businesses, communities and local and national Government can make a difference by supporting our local shops and retailers.
HELPING TO GET BUSINESSES PAID ON TIME Late payments are a problem as many local businesses know to their cost, which is why I have launched a new online portal to encourage businesses to pay their suppliers on time. The Prompt Payment Code of Conduct aims to improve our payment culture and promote best practices between businesses and suppliers. Getting paid on time can sometimes make the difference between a company surviving, or going under due to cash flow problems. So I am asking businesses across the country to sign up online at www.promptpayment.ie Businesses who sign up to the code undertake to: ■ Pay their suppliers on time, within the terms of contract and in accordance with legislation. ■ Give clear guidance to their suppliers on payment procedures ■ And encourage good practice by promoting the prompt payment code and its adoption through their supply chains. The code has been developed by my Department, the Irish Institute of Credit Management and business bodies including IBEC, ISME, SFA and Chambers Ireland, with support from the Banking and Payment Federation of Ireland. As well as demonstrating a real commitment to responsible practices businesses that sign up will improve their cash flow, which in turn leads to achieving a competitive advantage in the marketplace.
CONTACT GED NASH TD
Connolly Hall, Palace Street, Drogheda Office: 041 9810811
Email: gerald.nash@oir.ie Web: www.geraldnash.com
Follow me on Facebook @geraldnash
JOBS ACTION FOR LOUTH ON THE WAY I am working with the IDA, Enterprise Ireland, other public agencies and the private sector on a new Action Plan for Jobs for the Louth and Border region that aims to create more jobs and attract more investment for Drogheda, Dundalk and the north east.
JOBSPLUS SCHEME A FINANCIAL BOOST FOR LOCAL EMPLOYERS Employers in the north east who take on unemployed workers can gain significant financial benefits from the JobsPlus scheme.
The plan, due to be published in July, is modelled on the successful national Action Plan For Jobs that helped create Minister Ged Nash with Simon McCormack and Eddie Phelan of 40,000 new jobs last year. It Drogheda Chamber of Commerce at the Action Plan for Jobs focuses on how we can use regional stakeholder forum. Louth’s business strengths to attract more companies, including foreign direct investment to the county. And on how we can support more start-up businesses in Louth, further develop the county’s tourism potential and ensure our small and medium sized enterprises can grow more quickly. Business owners and entrepreneurs from Louth and the north-east are also involved. A stakeholders forum was held recently where the local business community got the opportunity to give their input on developing the region’s new Action Plan for Jobs to me and to state bodies. Nationally, the 2015 jobs action plan focuses on developing jobs in the regions with the Government making €250 million available over the next five years to help Louth and other counties achieve their full employment potential. The funding includes a €150 million property investment by the IDA to attract foreign direct investment. A further €100 million is being made available through Enterprise Ireland to support start-up enterprises in the regions and enable local businesses to grow, develop and export, thereby creating more jobs. Thankfully, since 2011, over 3,400 jobs have been created in EI and IDA-supported companies in Louth and 14,300 more people are now back at work in the Border area since the launch of the Action Plan for Jobs in 2012. However, we have further to go in order to reach our goal of full employment by 2018 and this regional Action Plan for Jobs will be the blueprint for achieving it.
Businesses receive €7,500 if they give a job to someone who has been out of work for one to two years, and €10,000 for employing a person who has been unemployed for two or more years. With my responsibility for the SME sector I would like to see more of our local enterprises use these supports which can often have a very favourable impact on their own bottom line. Ultimately, I want to see our local businesses not only survive, but thrive, and help us achieve our goal of returning the country to full employment by 2018. Every job created is a life back on track. More employment means increased tax revenue, which in turn means better services and a better country for all our people to live in. For further information log onto www.welfare.ie or contact my office.
BIG FALLS IN LOCAL UNEMPLOYMENT The economic recovery is working and more and more people are getting back to work in the North East.
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In Louth we have seen a massive 21% drop in unemployment in the past three years and the latest figures show the numbers of people signing on in the county has fallen by 9.7% in the last year alone. Nationally the numbers out of work are down to 10% and the Labour Party in Government is determined to see unemployment reduced to single figures in the next few weeks.
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Since Labour entered Government we have seen 100,000 people across the country get back to work. As Minister for Business my clear focus is to keep up the momentum on job creation and copper-fasten this recovery. The number of people without jobs is still too high but there is no doubt that this Government, with Labour at its heart, is working and things will continue to get better.
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EASIER ACCESS TO MICROFINANCE IRELAND’S MILLION LOAN FUND I am determined that our small businesses have access to the finance they need to grow so as Minister for Business and Employment I am making changes to Microfinance Ireland (MFI) to ensure that more entrepreneurs and micro-enterprises can access its loans. MFI provides loans of up to €25,000 for small and micro-enterprises that have less than 10 employees and a turnover of less than €2 million. My changes mean that micro-businesses will no longer have to have a bank refusal before they can apply for an MFI loan. Microfinance Ireland is also working with the banks to introduce an automatic referral system Minister Ged Nash pictured here on a Dublin Pedi Bus, a to MFI when a bank refuses a loan to a micro-enterprise. Microfinance start-up backed by Microfinance Ireland. Ireland aims to support 1,000 new jobs this year. Set up in 2012 MFI has made a significant difference to hundreds of small and micro businesses. It is currently supporting 1,121 jobs across the country and providing funding to over 511 small enterprises most of which, 76%, are outside Dublin. MFI plans to increase the number of jobs it is supporting to 2,000 by the end of 2015. I would encourage any entrepreneur or small enterprise who wants to know more to contact Microfinance Ireland at www.microfinanance Ireland.ie, or my office for assistance.
LAUNCHING GLEN DIMPLEX’S UAE EXPORT VENTURE As a proud Louth man and Minister for Business, I was delighted recently to officially launch Glen Dimplex’s new joint venture in the United Arab Emirates. One of our top Minister Ged Nash with Mr Lalu Samuel, Chairman local companies, of Xpelair Middle East and Kingston Holdings at Glen Dimplex is the launch of their joint venture with Glen Dimplex the world’s largest manufacturer of electrical heating appliances employing 300 people at its Dunleer plant and over ten thousand people worldwide. Their latest undertaking is Xpelair Middle East, a joint venture between Kingston Holdings and Glen Dimplex. It involves marketing an extensive range of household appliances, catering equipment and medical refrigeration appliances in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Middle East, African and central Asian countries. During January’s Enterprise Ireland trade mission to the UAE, I joined Mr Lalu Samuel, Chairman of Xpelair Middle East and Kingston Holdings, and a distinguished panel of guests for the official launch. I want to congratulate everyone involved in setting up this exciting joint venture and wish them every success on launching such an extensive range of products in this large and important export market.
80 GOVERNMENT SUPPORTS AVAILABLE FOR LOCAL BUSINESSES Busy local business people now have access at their fingertips to information on the 80 state supports available to help SME’s grow and develop. The SME Online Tool at www.localenterprise.ie/DiscoverBusiness-Supports/Supporting-SMEs-Online-Tool/ is a great place to find out about supports that might benefit your business. It’s a one stop shop providing SME’s, entrepreneurs and owner manager’s with full information on the assistance applicable to them and enabling them to apply directly for it.
CREDIT GUARANTEE SCHEME TO ASSIST MORE SMEs Changes I have made to the Credit Guarantee Scheme will help more small and medium sized businesses to access loan finance. The scheme aims to help viable businesses, which have been refused conventional bank credit facilities, access a statebacked guarantee for 75% of their loan. One of the changes I have introduced allows for the refinancing of loans when an SME’s bank is leaving the Irish credit market. The other extends the length of the statebacked guarantee from three to seven years. My changes allow SMEs to refinance their loans with participating banks. Bank of Ireland has already announced its participation in the scheme and I am working with the other main banks to include them in this new scheme too.
PROMETRIC EXPANSION CREATES 40 NEW JOBS The recent announcement by US company Prometric of 40 new jobs in Dundalk has brought more good news to Louth. I was delighted to join my Ministerial colleague Richard Bruton and IDA Chief Executive Martin Shanahan for the launch of a new research partnership between Prometric and Dublin City University. The US testing company is investing €550,000 in capital expenditure at its Dundalk centre plus an additional €2 million in its local workforce. Prometric is also investing €1 million in a research partnership with DCU to develop tests that can better assess Irish students at all levels of education in areas of critical thinking, skills assessment and knowledge recall. Prometric employs over 100 people at its Dundalk base which has sole responsibility for delivering the company’s services to its European customers. Their Minister Ged Nash (centre) at the Prometric, Dundalk job announcement with expansion is not only fantastic news, it is a tangible Minister Richard Bruton, Prof Brian McCraith DCU Prometric CEO Michael demonstration of Prometric’s commitment to Louth Brannick and IDA CEO Martin Shanahan. and the calibre of the workforce available to it here. It is good to see the US company’s Irish operation investing in a research programme with DCU and the tests that will be developed there have the potential to create even more jobs in Louth.
BUSINESSES TO HAVE SAY IN SETTING OF MINIMUM WAGE I have established the Low Pay Commission to advise the Government on the appropriate rate for the national minimum wage. This independent body has strong representation from the business community including a former president of the Irish Business and Employers Confederation as well as trade unionists, workers’ representatives and academics. The commission’s brief is to take the politics out of setting the minimum wage by looking at all of the evidence around low pay, including competitiveness and the need to protect existing jobs. Government will also look at measures to mitigate the impact any changes could have on small businesses. The business community has nothing to fear from this evidence-based approach. On the contrary, it will provide certainty to all businesses, small and large, on minimum wage costs. For the first time, businesses themselves will have the opportunity to make their views known on the rate of the minimum wage. The Commission will make recommendations to the Government on the minimum wage each year from now on. Clarity on this issue will allow firms to plan ahead and make informed investment decisions. As Minister for Business I also believe it is important to ensure that those on the lowest wages in our society get a real opportunity to share in our economic recovery. The commission’s first report to Government is due in July and I am looking forward to considering its recommendations.
Minister Ged Nash TD
Constituency Office: Connolly Hall, Palace Street, Drogheda Phone: 041 981 0811
Email: gerald.nash@oir.ie Fax: 01 618 4397 Follow me on Facebook @geraldnash 0612
Dáil Office: Leinster House, Kildare Street, Dublin 2