INCREASING CREDIT availability from banks remains critical to the survival and growth of SMEs, the chairman of the Small Firms Association (SFA) had said.

Addressing more than 650 members and guests at the annual SFA lunch yesterday, Ian Martin called on the Government to restore consumer confidence in the domestic market and help businesses retain and create jobs by not increasing the cost of doing business in budget 2013.

Outlining the key elements of the SFA pre-budget submission, Mr Martin said Government measures to support job creation should be simplified. “We support the replacement of existing PRSI reliefs which haven’t been much used by smaller employers due to their complexity, with direct subsidies to all employers for recruiting JobBridge interns and long-term unemployed people, provided the net monetary value is the same to the employer.”

Mr Martin also called on the Government to “job-proof” all Government policies, saying a cost impact analysis should be done on proposals outlining how they will impact on jobs.

While he acknowledged some progress has been made in the last year with regard to credit availability, in particular through the micro-finance and Government-backed loan guarantee scheme, he said the credit flow from banks to SMEs remains vital to their survival and growth.