Commenting on the revelation this week that the government will not be unveiling details of its strategy to boost employment in the Republic until early next year, the Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association (ISME) has slammed the delay, accusing the government of inaction on the issue of unemployment, and its chilling effect on the wider economy.

Speaking in Dublin recently, Enterprise Minister Richard Bruton revealed that he had been tasked by Cabinet Subcommittee on Jobs with preparing a strategy to create 200,000 new jobs and help 2 million of Ireland's unemployed back to work, explaining that:

"Jobs are at the very top of this government's agenda, and if we are to achieve the turnaround in employment that we so badly need, we must implement radical reform, across every aspect of the economy...we need a plan, and that is why I have committed to prepare a comprehensive jobs strategy."

However, ISME Chief Executive, Mark Fielding argued in response that:

“It is beyond belief that as over 300,000 people remain jobless and with over 200 jobs being lost daily through redundancy, that the Government are not going to bother addressing the problem until they come up with a plan in January, by which time the situation will have deteriorated further. The words Nero and Rome come to mind”.

He continued:

“What have these people been doing? They have been in power for over 7 months, and have made no impact on the unemployment numbers. Delaying a jobs strategy by a further 3 months, in the current environment, is an insult and far too late for thousands of people, whose jobs remain under severe pressure”.

And concluded:

“The Association has, for a significant period, been calling for the introduction of a jobs strategy, not only to address unemployment but to send a message to the general public that the Government has the issue in hand. Today’s announcement confirms that the can is now being firmly kicked down the road and in the process people’s jobs and livelihoods are being threatened. What is urgently needed is for the Government to publish their jobs strategy now and not at some date in the future, when it will be too late.”

The Small Firms Association, meanwhile, has job creation and the restoration of economic confidence and growth at the centre of its pre-Budget submission.

Speaking with regard to the submission, which has been presented to Finance Minister Michael Noonan, SFA Chairman, Ian Martin revealed that:

"In our discussions with Minister for Finance Michael Noonan, we focused on 5 key issues that we believe will be critical to restoring economic growth and to solving the unemployment crisis, while being in the main cost-neutral to implement."

"We believe government should:

1. Restore confidence: Unlock the savings and get people to spend. Government should communicate its four year fiscal adjustments to give certainty.

2. Rebalance austerity programme with growth plan: We should reach the target of €3.6bn reduction through expenditure cuts, not tax increases. An SME Credit Guarantee Scheme, targeted supports for domestically facing small businesses and changes to public procurement are essential.

3. Public sector reform: Stop incremental pay increases. The Croke Park deal needs to deliver specific measurable savings within a determined timeframe.

4. Social welfare reform: The self-employed and business owners must have the same welfare safety net as employees. There is also a need to remove any disincentives to work within the system.

5. Tax Policy: There should be no change to corporation tax, income tax or VAT. The only tax increases should be by introducing property taxes."

Mr Martin concluded: "The primary rationale in framing this year’s budget should be to create an economic environment that is conducive to small business growth and job creation and that restores consumer and business confidence by following fundamentally sound economic principles."