ISME appeals for end to 'outlandish' pre-election promises that add costs to businesses
With the next General Election a matter of weeks away, political parties are being urged to avoid promises that will increase the cost of doing business.
Representative body ISME said its members had the potential to create 60,000 jobs, but there were risks to their capacity to do so.
ISME cited the increase in the minimum wage which came into effect at the start of this year as a "blackspot" that would impact job creation.
Around 124,000 workers are expected to benefit from the new National Minimum Wage, which increased the hourly rate by 50c to €9.15.
Alongside USC and PRSI cuts, a single person working full-time on the minimum wage will now see an annual boost to their income of €708 a year, or €14 a week.
Spokesman Mark Fielding (pictured below) said: "Before we even have a new Government, the outlandish political promises are causing concern, especially when politicians start talking about increasing costs (to business), whether that's wages, paternity leave, parental leave…and anything that adds costs to small business. They have to be very careful, I think."
