Sinn Féin spokesperson for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Louise O’Reilly, has said the government’s July Stimulus package needs to be expansive and imaginative- with a definitive focus on stimulating micro business as well as small and medium enterprises.
Teachta O’Reilly said: “It is clear that current government measures to support businesses have failed to provide adequate liquidity to ensure the survival of micro business and SMEs in affected sectors. The July stimulus package must contain measures to finally give these businesses the support they need and deserve.
“Across Europe we are seeing countries unveiling significant economic stimulus packages. “In Britain, we have seen a package of around £30 billion announced to invest in the economy and try to save sectors and recover them to something like their pre-Covid19 state.
“Countries like Germany and Denmark have gone even bigger and are investing huge sums of money in targeted and imaginative ways to stimulate their economies.
“Germany have launched a €130 billion stimulus package, while Denmark are aiming to ensure their stimulus package will deliver a severely reduced economic contraction that will be lower than the European average.
“While the Tánaiste should look at the positive aspects of the British stimulus package, it is our European Union counterparts’ economic stimulus packages that we should be focusing on.
“Affected micro business and SMEs do not want to take on additional debt. What they need is immediate injections of liquidity, such as through grants. This will allow them to recover, reinvest, and reemploy.
“This will require the State to borrow, however, the cost of not investing in affected sectors will be far greater and will cost the State more in both the short and long term.
“The Tánaiste needs to follow our European counterparts and deliver an economic stimulus package, specifically targeting micro business and SMEs in affected sectors, that is expansive and imaginative and can allow businesses to recover, reinvest, and reemploy.”
