Trim businesses outline problems to Taoiseach

Taoiseach Brian Cowen visited Trim last Friday to hear the issues facing local businesses at an event organised by Trim Chamber of Commerce and local town councillor Ronan McKenna to plot out a recovery template for towns around the country. In a statement issued by Cllr McKenna after the meeting, which was a private one on the Taoiseach's itinerary, he said: "Local businesses are the backbone of the economy and the route to our recovery. The Taoiseach listened to the views of Trim businesses. He was particularly interested in hearing what the barriers to growth were at a local level. "He agreed that the public sector needs to adopt a flexible approach to supporting businesses particularly in the current economic environment. There were many practical suggestions made by businesses that we've captured. The Taoiseach heard that the public procurement process was too slow and meant that many local businesses can't even afford to tender. Local authorities should be given direction to be flexible and the whole procurement process should be audited regularly to ensure that taxpayers' money is been spent in the most effective manner." Cllr McKenna said many businesses suggested PRSI holidays for those employing apprentices to encourage businesses to take young people on and that there should be greater flexibility between taking people off the dole and into ad hoc work, where required. A common thread throughout all the suggestions was the lack of availability of credit for viable but vulnerable businesses, including agri-businesses and farmers and Cllr McKenna said he believes this the greatest threat to local communities around the country as small businesses shut down and jobs are lost. The event lasted two-and-a-half hours with the Taoiseach meeting separate groups of businesses, including retailers, hotelier, agribusiness and construction. This innovative format saw businesses sit and chat informally with the Taoiseach for 15-20 minutes. The Taoiseach praised Trim Chamber of Commerce for organising the event. Cllr McKenna said he would work with the Chamber to create a local business policy document based on the output of these meetings, which will be presented to the Taoiseach in the coming weeks.