Representatives from Chambers Ireland, ISME and the Irish Exporters Association will appear before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment on Wednesday to discuss the concerns of SMEs.

Chambers Ireland CEO Ian Talbot, ISME CEO Neil McDonnell, and IEA CEO Simon McKeever will speak before the committee about how to address the challenges facing small businesses.

The meeting will take place two days after the announcement of the Windsor Framework to alter post-Brexit rules for the movement of goods as agreed in the contentious Northern Ireland protocol.

Committee Cathaoirleach Maurice Quinlivan of Sinn Féin said that the conclusion of EU-UK negotiations regarding the Northern Ireland protocol was "welcome news for businesses amid a long period of uncertainty."

“While much focus is on multi-national companies and foreign direct investment, our domestic enterprise and SME sector is often overlooked despite making a huge contribution and employing people all over Ireland at every level," he continued.

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“Inflation, the housing crisis which is exacerbating the talent shortage; and concerns about Ireland’s competitiveness are among the issues we expect to discuss with representatives tomorrow.”

The meeting will take place from 9:30am on Wednesday.