The new chair of an Irish business group wants to slash insurance costs and taxes
Sue O’Neill has been elected as head of the Small Firms Association.
THE NEW CHAIR of one of Ireland’s most prominent business associations plans to focus on cutting taxes and the cost of insurance in her new role.
The Small Firms Association (SFA) announced this morning that Sue O’Neill has been elected as its new chair for a two-year term.
O’Neill is the managing director of Shellcove, a management company that provides professional services to associations and organisations.
Speaking to Fora, O’Neill said that her first “key aim” in her new role will be to try to get the government to become “obsessed with cost competitiveness”.
“Tax reform will be key to this, which will obviously create jobs and investment and will make people want to work here,” she said. “We hit the top 52% rate of tax before €34,000, in the UK the top rate of 47% kicks in at £110,000 (€131,200).”
Self-employed
O’Neill also pointed to the PAYE tax credit – which is worth €1,650 to people working as employees in the PAYE sector, but not available to the self-employed – as something that she wants to reform.
“We are looking for equal treatment between the self-employed and PAYE workers,” she said.
“Insurance costs are also up by 35% this year for businesses, we need to improve the functioning of the insurance sector.
“For something like whiplash, which makes up most personal injuries claims, we should look at paying for rehab rather than handing out cash.”
SFA chair Sue O'Neill
Asked how she would achieve her goals, the new SFA chair said that it would most likely be through lobbying those in government.
“We have been doing this for the last while and there are lots of areas where we are lobbying the government. Tax reform will be a cornerstone,” she said.
Culture of entrepreneurship
In a statement, the SFA said that O’Neill will also look to “improve the culture and recognition around entrepreneurship in Ireland; develop appropriate education and skills to meet small business needs and improve the business environment.”
Prior to Shellcove, O’Neill founded Generation in 1993, a creative agency offering advertising, design and marketing services across a broad spectrum of clients.
O’Neill holds an MBA from Dublin City University and is a graduate of the IMI business development programme.
She has previously served as a committee member of the Institute of Business Analysis & Consulting. She has been a member of the Small Firms Association since 1993 and has served on its National Council since 2004.
