Latest news with #NationalDevelopmentPlan
Irish Independent
19 hours ago
- General
- Irish Independent
Village in Wicklow Mountains to get new bus stop and traffic calming
At the June meeting of Baltinglass Municipal District, councillors were told that works will start on a new bus stop and traffic calming measures during the month of July. The development will provide a formal bus stop for the 132 route that serves the village and will also provide traffic calming measures at Hollywood Cross. The aim of the project is to reduce vehicle speeds in the area and create a safer environment for vulnerable road users looking to cross the N81. Drainage works will take place alongside the installation of new public lighting, pedestrian crossings, bus shelters and signage. As part of the plans the speed limit on the N81 beside Hollywood will be reduced from 100kph to 80kph. Cllr Patsy Glennon paid tribute to the district engineers for their work and cited the project as one of greatest accomplishments in his role as chair. Cllr Glennon paid an active role in helping to get the project over the line. In 2021, he and then Cllr Edward Timmins both contributed €5,000 from their discretionary funding allowance to cover the cost of consultants who carried out a feasibility study of the proposed bus stop facilities in the west Wicklow village. Cllr Avril Cronin hopes it will lead to better service on the 132 bus route and called on her district colleagues to now push for the upgrade of the N81 to be included in the review of the National Development Plan.
IOL News
2 days ago
- Business
- IOL News
Small business, big future: What will the economy do for entrepreneurs?
SMME Day should not be a ritual nod to entrepreneurs. It should be a reckoning. A moment to ask not what more small business can do for the economy, but what the economy is willing to do for them, says the author. Image: File June 27 marks International SMME Day, a moment intended to recognise the contributions of small businesses to national economies. In South Africa, this day, if we are honest with ourselves, is actually less about celebration and more about confronting hard and uncomfortable truths. Despite being repeatedly described as the backbone of our economy, small businesses continue to face conditions that are anything but supportive. The contradiction between policy rhetoric and lived reality is stark. Small, micro, and medium-sized enterprises are expected to carry the weight of job creation in a country where the expanded unemployment rate hovers above 43%, and youth unemployment exceeds 46%. Let's not quibble about definitions - but these figures are not mere data points, they reflect a broken promise of a better life for all. They reveal an economic system that closes more doors than it opens, particularly for those trying to build businesses from the ground up. Across the country, small business owners navigate a daily struggle through unreliable electricity, decaying infrastructure, slow payments from state institutions, limited access to finance, and a policy environment that is too often performative. In theory, our market economy rewards innovation and risk-taking. In practice, it rewards incumbency and inherited advantage. Markets do not design themselves. They reflect decisions, who sets the rules, who benefits from them, and who gets excluded. In South Africa, we continue to treat the economy as if it were neutral, as if it were untouched by history. But the economic terrain is uneven, shaped by generations of exclusion. Small businesses are told to compete, to innovate, to absorb unemployment, while carrying the burden of systemic dysfunction that they did not create. The state, while well-meaning in policy documents, often underperforms where it matters most. Implementation. Red tape is reduced in speeches, not in reality. Support schemes are announced, yet the delivery is wanting. Entrepreneurs spend more time navigating bureaucracy than growing their businesses. Plans such as the National Development Plan and small business development funds look good on paper and yet the reality is it remains out of reach for most, especially those in rural and township communities. This failure is not just administrative. It is ethical. At its core, it raises a question of fairness. Do these business owners receive a return that matches what they put in? For many, the answer is no. They invest capital they can barely spare, work relentlessly, and still face barriers that have nothing to do with effort or talent. Roads are broken, electricity unreliable, and government institutions often unresponsive. The playing field is not just tilted it is actively stacked against them. At the same time, large businesses continue to operate with insulation from these realities. Their supply chains remain exclusive; their transformation commitments often reduced to checkbox exercises. Supplier development is treated as obligation, not opportunity. While procurement frameworks nominally include small businesses, the real value often flows to the same few players. Too many corporates confuse compliance with contribution, and mentoring with meaningful inclusion. We must ask harder questions about who holds power in our economy, and why they continue to do so. True economic inclusion requires structural change, not surface adjustments. It requires a shift in values towards recognising that small business is not a charity case or a backup plan for unemployment. It is a central pillar of innovation, dignity, and community stability. Black Economic Empowerment, in its original form, was a bold attempt to correct the imbalances of the past. But its spirit has been diluted. It is now often misused as a political talking point or reduced to bureaucratic compliance and complaints of reverse discrimination. The problem though is not with the tool itself; it lies in how we have chosen to apply it. When transformation is gamed, fronting tolerated, and true access to opportunity remains limited, we have to admit that the practice has drifted far from the principle. Part of this failure traces back to the early days of our democracy. In the political negotiations of the 1990s, South Africa secured the vote but relinquished meaningful leverage over the economy. Economic power, ownership, capital, and institutional control, remained largely untouched. While the Constitution enshrined rights, the structure of the economy remained shaped by old interests. What followed was a democratic state tasked with redistributive justice but with few tools to restructure entrenched inequality. The result is a transformation agenda that operates within the confines of an inherited system. We asked the economy to include the excluded without reconfiguring who holds the keys. It was, in effect, a freedom with limits, political representation without economic reconstruction. Equally dangerous is the continued peddling of the myth that economic freedom can exist independently of social and political freedom. A market that is free for some and closed for others is not a free market at all, it is a rigged game. Growth that enriches the few while excluding the many is not development; it is stagnation disguised as success. South Africa has no shortage of entrepreneurial talent. What it lacks is an ecosystem that recognises and rewards it. Until small businesses are built into corporate value chains, until public institutions are held accountable for timely payments, until financial systems start assessing potential rather than pedigree, we will continue to fall short of our national potential. SMME Day should not be a ritual nod to entrepreneurs. It should be a reckoning. A moment to ask not what more small business can do for the economy, but what the economy is willing to do for them. Praise means nothing without power. Recognition means nothing without reform. Small businesses are not asking for handouts. They are asking for fairness. They are asking for a seat at the table they help to build. And if we are serious about a future that is inclusive, stable, and just, then it is time for both government and big business to answer that call with action.
SowetanLIVE
2 days ago
- Business
- SowetanLIVE
From gap to growth: tangible shifts in SMME funding
We know that SMMEs are engine drivers in SA's economy and job creation. The World Bank forecasts that four out of five new jobs over the next 15 years will be created by SMMEs, while the National Development Plan projects they'll contribute up to 80% of SA's GDP by 2030. A staggering proportion considering that this segment of the economy is largely underserved. Positively, there are more funding solutions available now than there ever have been before. And as more funding options become available it is vital that education around securing relevant funding from reputable financiers is prioritised. Websites such as Finfind assist in securing the right kind of help from credible providers, and organisations such as SME SA and the Gauteng Enterprise Propeller provide mentorship, training, access and business assistance to small business owners. The National Financial Literacy Association plays a key role in addressing the challenge of financial literacy and inadequate record-keeping through impactful, data-driven initiatives. More businesses are also investing in the SMME sector to drive change among entrepreneurs. This was emphasised in the support of young business owners over Youth Month, contributing to the 30% of SMME owners under the age of 35. Future-focused finance solutions There are many alternative solutions available to SMMEs, but knowing what to choose and why is where many business owners fall short. Digitised options that are focused on the opportunity rather than credit history are where alternative providers are delivering impact-driven financing in a way that meets the needs of SMMEs. Traditional lenders, like commercial banks, have expanded SMME product offerings and many are running tailor-made programmes targeted at business owners across crucial sectors such as agriculture and retail. Fintechs like Sourcefin offer fast, tech-enabled solutions that can deliver fast capital that supports the entrepreneur along their business journey, and blended finance models are becoming more common. When it comes to alternative solutions, revenue-based funding is gaining popularity, enabling SMMEs to grow and build with the backing of invested capital for a percentage of earnings. Similarly, merchant cash advances offer lending through point of sale, unlocking funds that are paid back to the lender at each transaction. For those requiring a large amount of capital to fulfil tenders or contracts, purchase order funding is a valuable solution that pays suppliers upfront, releasing SMMEs from the financial constraints that may be experienced due to insufficient cash flow or inventory. This solution should be structured to ensure that the lender is only repaid once the order has been paid by the borrower's customer, so that any profits can be reinvested back into growing the business. In addition, invoice discounting provides a forward-focused solution that unlocks funding (usually determined as a percentage of the invoice value), which is paid directly to the SMME who may be required to wait 30, 60, or even 90 days for payment from their client. Generally, interest is charged on the capital outlay, but structures vary depending on the needs of the business and the lender. Reformed regulations to public-private partnerships Regulatory bottlenecks and procurement barriers continue to stifle small businesses, but there is hope. In the recent budget speech, the finance minister Enoch Godongwana outlined a fiscal strategy focused on unlocking infrastructure investment and stimulating economic growth.
The Journal
3 days ago
- Business
- The Journal
Ireland needs 80,000 new workers to reach housing and infrastructure targets, ESRI says
IRELAND NEEDS AROUND 40,000 more people employed in the construction sector if the government wants to reach targets of 50,000 new homes a year, according to an economic forecast from the ESRI. Additionally, if the government intends to fulfil promises made in its National Development Plan (NDP), which includes building the infrastructure needed for new housing developments, another 40,000 workers would be needed. The ESRI's latest Quarterly Economic Commentary reiterates previous concerns about capacity constraints in infrastructure delivery, adding that a hoped-for transfer of from non-residential construction to home building has not happened. As cost of buying and renting homes continues to rise , so too does the demand for housing. Meanwhile, many public infrastructure projects that would serve new homes have been beset by delays. Infrastructure shortcomings are creating a bottleneck in the delivery of new residential buildings because the services required are simply not yet in place in many cases. At the same time, Ireland has nearly full employment, so finding 80,000 workers to address the seemingly perpetual housing crisis looks like a daunting task, if not an impossible one, the ESRI suggests. 'We raise this issue of labour constraint on housing provision in part as a reminder of just how challenging it will be to reach a target of 50,000 housing completions or more in the current context of full employment, ' the report states. Last year, the government missed its housing target by roughly 10,000 units, with 30,330 new homes built. On top of that, housing completion targets over the next two years will be missed by around 9,000, according to the Banking & Payments Federation Ireland. Advertisement 'We're seeking to achieve that increase in housing output, while at the same time trying to deliver on an enormously ambitious National Development Plan. And again, all of these things are very laudable,' outgoing ESRI director Alan Barrett told reporters in a briefing on the economic forecast. However, the issue with trying to reach that 50,000 goal, and the completion of the NDP, is workforce capacity. While the government tends to set annual housing targets, the NDP covers infrastructure investment over a ten-year period up until 2030. 'If you were to get housing up from about 30,000 up to about 50,000 about 20,000 increase, you could require about 40,000 additional construction employees. 'It is simply, for us, inconceivable, or at least extremely difficult to conceive how such increases in labour can actually be attained over the short run and even the medium run,' Barrett said. Barrett explained that the situation has led the ESRI to be 'cautious' about the overall capacity of the economy to deliver the required infrastructural expansion. The ESRI's Conor O'Toole said that 'capacity issues in infrastructure and housing are likely to constrain long-term growth and need continued emphasis in terms of public expenditure'. All this means that the government needs to carefully prioritise the NDP projects in order to keep up with demand for services that come with new housing development. 'For many, many years in Ireland, the constraint on development was a budget constraint,' said Barrett. 'But I think you can now say, in a full employment context, the constraint is actually a labour constraint, whereby ministers still have to make difficult decisions, even if the cash is very, very plentiful,' he said. Related Reads Tax breaks for developers? Harris 'remains to be convinced' it's the best tool to boost supply Plans to tie rents for new build apartments to inflation rate being brought to Cabinet Dereliction in Ireland: 'Something is rotten in the Irish property industry' Asked where he sees an additional 80,000 workers coming from, Barrett said: 'The answer is, I can't.' Barrett and O'Toole did offer some possible ways to address the labour shortage though. One of the ways to get more people working in the required roles is through immigration, although that's 'not guaranteed', according to O'Toole. Similarly, the economists suggested that Ireland could benefit from having some large-scale international development companies doing business here. O'Toole also said that modernising construction techniques and using new technology may also help to speed up construction and therefore free up workers earlier. But overall, O'Toole said the ESRI remains 'pessimistic' about housing construction this year and into next year. 'We're just in and around 33,000 units for this year, which is 1000 shy of our previous forecast, and we've held next year's forecast at about 37,000 units.' Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
Irish Independent
3 days ago
- Business
- Irish Independent
Two of every three Irish adults are working, as labour force growth bucks the global trend of ‘great retirement'
Irish workforce participation rate of 65.8pc is above the EU average of 59pc There has been no 'great retirement' in Ireland, with the labour force participation rate now standing at almost 66pc, way ahead of the EU average. While the Covid pandemic led to a dramatic increase in retirements in other countries, the opposite has happened in Ireland, with more men and women joining the workforce. 'There is evidence of a clear level-shift between the period before the Covid-19 pandemic and the period since,' the ESRI's latest quarterly economic commentary says. It points out that the Irish participation rate of 65.8pc is above both the EU average (59pc), and the average of Western European countries (62pc). 'Such a high participation rate suggests there may be limited scope in the domestic labour market for future increases to the labour force,' said the ESRI. The 'remarkable' rise in employment means there are now almost 2.8 million people at work, a historic high. The ESRI predicts there will be another 66,000 people added to employment figures this year, and 45,000 next year. With unemployment remaining low, at just 4pc, the tightness of the labour market is putting upward pressure on wages. Because they now outstrip price inflation, real wages are on the rise. The ESRI is forecasting real wage growth of 3.5pc this year, and 2.3pc in 2026. 'Year-on-year growth in nominal wages was 5.5pc in the first quarter. This followed similarly high growth rates in 2024,' according to the ESRI commentary, which notes that sustained growth in nominal earnings of about 5pc is high by historical standards. Higher labour costs are having an impact on employers, with 49pc of small businesses reporting an increase in costs over the last year, according to a new survey from the Small Firms Association. Labour-related costs remain the biggest challenge, businesses say, with 31pc saying they have increased. The tightness of the labour market makes it harder for Government to hit house-building targets. ADVERTISEMENT The ESRI says that to get to the 50,000 units a year that are needed, another 40,000 construction workers would have to be employed. To complete all the projects in the National Development Plan as well would require a total of 80,000 to be employed. As with other institutions, including the Central Bank, the ESRI has downgraded its forecast for how many houses it expects to be completed this year. 'The number of housing completions in 2024 – at just over 30,000 – was disappointing and we remain somewhat pessimistic about the scope for substantial growth in 2025 and 2026,' the commentary says. 'We have reduced our forecast from our previous commentary for the present year, and now expect 33,000 completions in 2025 and just under 37,000 completions in 2026, but there are considerable downside risks.' It has also reduced the forecast for modified domestic demand, regarded as the most accurate measure of Irish economic performance. The ESRI had forecast growth of 3pc last spring, but has reduced that to 2.3pc. The word 'uncertainty' appears 19 times in the commentary, with the ESRI saying it now 'far outweighs' previous highs such as Covid and the global financial crisis.
