Limerick councillor asks John Moran to prepare 'emergency report' to help local businesses

A SPECIAL meeting of the Economic Development, Enterprise and Planning SPC held virtually last week, chaired by Cllr Eddie Ryan, had only one item on the agenda - supporting local businesses.

Participants received a presentation from John Moran on the following report - Supporting Limerick’s SMEs through challenging times and change. Cllr Ryan said the meeting had a record attendance and it was unanimously agreed to send this document for consideration to the full council meeting on December 3.

Mr Moran, CEO and founder of RHH International and former director of the European Investment Bank, said it was an honour to be asked by Cllr Ryan to produce this emergency report to identify steps we can take to help our local business. 

"They are critical to Limerick’s economy and society, but they are hurting right now. Supporting business owners, our friends and family, so that they can get back to health is the best way to rebuild our local economy. This is not a time for business as usual. Our SMEs need radical rethinking of supports in our region and beyond.  

"There is no time to lose and certainly none to waste for business owners trying to work out what supports exist and how to save their businesses. It is why in our report we are recommending the immediate establishment of a local SME Recovery Task Force to be chaired by Limerick’s first citizen, to drive forward actions which need to be implemented to save firms. We would also like to see a one-stop shop support structure for all Limerick SMEs to include a new hub and spoke structure of offices and co-working locations across the city and county towns. These will be essential for Limerick to develop as a perfect home for SMEs now operating in a more decentralised manner," said Mr Moran, who is also chair of SME Recovery Ireland and chaired the panel who produced the report issued on a pro bono basis.

"I would like to thank the many stakeholders and business owners who contributed great ideas, help and reviewed drafts of our report. I would also like to thank Paraic Rattigan, Mid-West Regional Enterprise Plan Manager, for a great document. Without them it would not have been possible to produce such a comprehensive document in time to submit it to those drafting the National SME Growth Plan," added Mr Moran.

Cllr Ryan, chair of the Economic Development, Enterprise and Planning Strategic Policy Committee, said they are particularly concerned about the health of our businesses as a result of Covid-19 restrictions.

"This is an excellent piece of work. SMEs throughout the country are responsible for 800,000 jobs. This represents 65% of our national workforce. We want to thank Vincent Murray, Pat Fitzgerald, Paraic Rattigan, John Moran and the team of other volunteers assembled so quickly for the comprehensive report which our committee endorsed. 

"There are some very interesting ideas in the report. It is particularly useful to see things we can do ourselves here in Limerick. I called a special meeting of the Strategic Policy Committee as I felt we must act quickly to examine the recommendations and move forward - especially with those we can implement quickly. The members of our committee will then work with officials and the mayor to see how we can help thereafter," said Mr Ryan.

In short, the report presents a scalable strategy to support a small business recovery in Limerick. It identifies “a thriving community of agile SMEs working in a distributed manner, better capitalised and resilient to shocks and change” as a key outcome to create a better post-Covid Limerick for all our citizens. 

Among the main recommendations are:

Set up a Limerick SME Recovery Task Force to be chaired by the Mayor with the view to formulating and implementing a recovery strategy for Limerick businesses;

Develop a “Made in Limerick” premium marketing brand and expand the Shop Limerick virtual shopping experience;

Develop a hub and spoke network of co-working and SME support locations throughout the county;

Commission a report to assess opportunities and challenges from decentralised working;  

Establish a countywide network of local farmers’ markets;

Implement a rolling 3-year plan for the development of one new EU market a year for Limerick firms;

Periodically produce Limerick specific Consumer and Business Sentiment Surveys;

Enhance financial literacy training for business owners and introduce apprenticeship and scholarship models;

Facilitate a new Limerick SME Financing Task Force to improve funding availability;

Create a new equity fund to support start-ups and firms in growth cycles;

Introduce an annual SME NCT to assess the financial resilience of SMEs across the county in conjunction with a viability/resilience Index of Limerick based businesses; 

Implement a safe, communal, click and collect facility for local businesses.

The report was also submitted by Mr Moran to the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment and officials producing the National SME Growth Plan

Vincent Murray, A/Director of Economic Development, LCCC, said he was delighted to see this report identify the key role SMEs play in the local economy. 

"I hope that the National SME Growth Plan adopts some of the suggestions and especially authorises and provides funding for Limerick to drive forward the reforms suggested locally. There are a number of measures and initiatives we will drive forward in parallel ourselves in the meantime. 

"We all want to be part of a proactive campaign for these businesses involving everyone who can help from banks, government agencies, our own Limerick City and County Council officials and elected representatives," said Mr Murray.