Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Tuesday, 13 November 2018
Seanad Public Consultation Committee
Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises: Discussion
2:30 pm
Mr. Sven Spollen-Behrens:
On the small business strategy and the three priorities, the main thing is the change in mindset. Whilst we have the important FDI sector, we need to shift the focus without abandoning the FDI sector. One part of the change of mindset involves looking at legislation in the making. On its own, auto-enrolment is fine and can be dealt with. However, if one looks at banded hours Bills, which a different Department is looking at, the Low Pay Commission and minimum wage or other cost pressures being put on small businesses, it emphasises how important it is to have a bird's eye view of what is happening in the SME sector because it is all about competitiveness. What we see for the SME sector at the moment is a perfect storm where we could lose our competitiveness. I could go on but my one wish - instead of three - is the shift in mindset to focus on the SME sector.
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