Dear Member, 

Welcome to this edition of the SFA e-zine.

This evening Government will publish their revised Living with Covid-19 Plan. We will carefully review it and get back to you in relation to the sections that are relevant to the small business community. The plan will be published here this evening.

If you attended Business Connect on 11 February, we ask that you please take a few moments to fill out the feedback form here so that we may get a better understanding of what you value and are looking for in future SFA events.

Last week we heard the devastating news that Ulster Bank is to exit the Irish market; read our reaction to this and their advice for small business customers.

This week we look at a case made under the Protected Disclosure Act 2014, where a complainant was subject to unlawful dismissal or penalisation for having made a protected disclosure. You can also read the SFA’s submission to the review of the National Development Plan.

The pandemic has prompted the mobilisation of “digital” across the Irish economy and society as businesses, services, and community groups register highest ever number of .ie domains; read the .IE report here.

We would also like to remind members to prepare for the ending of the reduced VAT rate on 28 February.

Book on to some of the upcoming SFA Skillnet Masterclasses and Workshops here, and check out our most recent press coverage.

As always, we’d love to hear from you about any queries you may have, issues you wish to have raised with Government or other stakeholders and your ideas on how we can improve the business environment for us all. Please contact me on tel: 01 605 1602 or e-mail: sven@sfa.ie or tweet: @SFA_Irl or visit our website.

Kind regards, 

Sven Spollen-Behrens

SFA Director