3000 jobs have been lost this year because of increasing employer liability insurance, and hundreds of small- to medium-sized companies are preparing for closure, according to the Small Firms Associat ...
Three thousand jobs have been lost this year because of increasing employers' liability insurance, and hundreds of small- to medium-sized companies are preparing for closure, according to the Small Firms Association (SFA) and Irish Small to Medium-sized Enterprises (ISME).
The SFA said that 67 of its members have closed this year with the loss of 1,430 jobs, while ISME has lost 800 jobs from 200 member firms.
Both claim that if the insurance cost spiral is not halted, job could run into tens of thousands next year.
ISME chief executive Mark Fielding said: "If this total of jobs was being lost or at risk in the multinational sector, we would be looking at a national crisis, Government task forces and what have you, but because they are going in fours and fives, here and there, the problem is being ignored."
Insurance premiums for ISME companies have increased by 71% since January. The annual insurance bill of JF Engineering in Wexford rocketed by 1600% in less than two years.
