Time waits for no man (or woman) - SME sector

In these troubled times, I'm reminded of the late John. F. Kennedy's request of the American people during his Presidential inauguration speech on January 20, 1961 "Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country".

There is little doubt that people across the globe have sacrificed a lot in recent months during this pandemic and may have to continue to do so for some time to come, but the reality is that it is now time to get people back to work and sooner rather than later.

Here at home, there have been some gloomy commentaries in the past few days about the outlook for the SME sector, the biggest employer in the Irish economy, and yet in my view, politicians continue to dither about getting aid to these troubled businesses.

Ireland has now gone the longest period in its history without a new government following a General Election. And there is no guarantee we will have one by close of play tomorrow when the party members of Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, and the Green Party vote on the proposed Programme for Government, with the Greens seen as the most likely to vote it down.

In some ways, I wouldn't blame the Greens if they rejected it and stayed on the opposition benches because whoever eventually takes over the reins of power is likely to have some difficult and unpopular choices to make over the next few years on the budgetary front. The reality is that despite ultra-low interest rates at the moment, we cannot borrow our way out of this economic mess indefinitely, and there is no guarantee that rates will remain this low forever. But we are in a crisis situation and need a Government and urgently.

Worryingly the SME sector continues to burn while our political elite fiddle. Mandatory wearing of face masks is not going to solve its problems. It needs liquidity supports and quickly. If our politicians had put half as much energy into helping SME businesses as they have debating the pros and cons of wearing face coverings, things might look somewhat brighter than they do today.

While in the immediate future, getting these liquidity supports is the key thing for the SME sector, ultimately the survival of businesses will depend on enough consumers buying their goods or services.

Taking John F. Kennedy's words to heart, I as an Irish citizen will do my best to support the restaurants, pubs, retailers, etc through buying their products and I urge everyone else to do the same.

In the meantime, if there is anyone out there in the SME sector, who can think of any other way I can help, and I'm not just talking about giving economic advice, I mean anything at all, please let me know.