Small and medium-sized business owners are hitting retirement age and succession is fast becoming a national issue.

All over the country, many small and medium-sized enterprises that have built over decades by founders and there is no obvious successor. As a result, Ireland faces a largely overlooked challenge. Who will own Irish businesses when their founder’s step aside? The answer matters not just for those business owners, but for employees, local communities and the wider economy. The challenge is not simply keeping businesses operating. It is determining who owns them next.

SMEs employ people, train workers, support local suppliers and contribute to the tax base. In many towns and communities, they act as anchors of economic activity. When succession fails, viable businesses can close. When businesses are sold, ownership frequently moves elsewhere. Decision-making, profits and future investment may follow. Ownership influences where wealth is created and where it ultimately ends up.
While foreign direct investment remains enormously valuable to the Irish economy, the ESRI points out that strengthening domestically owned firms would improve economic resilience, broaden the tax base and raise living standards.

A recent report warned that Ireland’s productivity performance is heavily dependent on foreign-owned firms and that future growth will increasingly need to come from a stronger indigenous business sector. Succession planning is not simply about retirement. It is part of a larger question about the future ownership and resilience of the Irish economy.