Up to half of small businesses in Mayo could be ‘decimated’ by September

A stark warning that up to half of the county's small businesses could collapse unless the Government acts urgently to address a mounting wave of costs hitting businesses across rural Ireland was the message from Achill-based Councillor Paul McNamara at this week's Economic & Enterprise Development Strategic Policy Committee in Mayo County Council. 

The Fianna Fáil politician did not mince his words at a recent council meeting. "We're in the eye of the storm, and it's a perfect storm, and if we go the way that's going, we're going to see at least 50% of our small businesses wiped out. That's the reality of where we're at."

Cllr McNamara listed a raft of costs that have already landed on business owners in recent months — energy bills, auto-enrolment pension contributions, increased staffing costs, commercial rates, insurance, and the rising minimum wage — warning that these pressures had already accumulated before the current crisis intensified. He said business owners across the county have in recent weeks been receiving supplier letters notifying them of price increases of between 15% and 20%, with further reviews due to take effect from 1 May. "There is no business that will sustain those types of increases," he said.

The SPC discussion come as the Government signed off on a €250 million package of measures, including a temporary excise duty reduction on motor fuels, an expansion of the diesel rebate scheme for hauliers and bus operators, and an extension of the fuel allowance on Tuesday.

The councillor was scathing in his assessment of the Government's response, arguing that measures such as minor reductions in home heating oil and agricultural diesel fell well short of what is needed. "It's an insult for them to do what they're doing — to knock two or three cent off home heating oil, to knock 20 cent off petrol and white diesel when they collect 60 cents in every euro. The Government at the moment are not stepping up to the plate."

Cllr McNamara said he feared particularly for businesses that were built up from scratch through hard work, with little support from traditional banking and often relying on bodies such as the Mayo Local Enterprise Office to get started. "I will be very, very fearful for the small businesses that are built from absolutely nothing, only hard work and sweat," he said. He warned that if the small business sector — which he described as the backbone of the local economy — begins to fail, recovery will be slow and painful. "We know how long it takes a business to get off the ground. We have nothing in place for that disaster at the moment."

He called on the Government to act before September, warning that without swift intervention, the damage could prove irreversible.

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Councillor Chris Maxwell echoed those concerns, pointing specifically to fuel costs as one of the most immediate and damaging pressures on businesses across the county. He called for the carbon tax to be eliminated. "Eliminate the carbon tax immediately, or until this crisis is over — that would be a very important way of helping businesses across this country to stay on their feet and keep running," he said.

Cllr Maxwell stressed that the crisis extends beyond retail and hospitality, warning that farming and the agricultural contracting sector face severe difficulties as costs are passed down the supply chain. "Farming is a business, and they will not be able to sustain the price increases. Agricultural contractors cannot absorb these costs — they have to pass them on," he said, citing silage, slurry, and general contracting work as areas where costs are rising sharply.

"Rural Ireland is in serious trouble at the minute, and they need as much support as can be given to them from the Government," Cllr Maxwell added.

Both councillors urged the Government to treat the situation with the urgency it deserves, with Cllr McNamara warning that September could prove to be a defining moment for the viability of small business in County Mayo and beyond.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme