ISME

Do you know what Synthetic Identity Fraud is? Keeping up with the new ways bad actors are looking to defraud your business is a challenge in itself! Pat Lordan, retired Head of the Financial Intelligence Unit of the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau will be hosting a session at the next ISME in-person event in Cork City next Wednesday 24th June in partnership with Jobs.ie He will provide practical advice to business owners to prevent fraud that includes CEO impersonation fraud, invoice redirection, investment fraud, romance fraud, and deepfake AI imagery fraud. Register today for this free event – https://isme.ie/isme-leadership-networking-forum-2026-cork

Vice Chair of ISME Ireland, Elaine Dunne, with An Taoiseach Micheál Martin at the National Economic Dialogue 2026 where stakeholders have open and inclusive exchanges on the competing priorities facing government – and what need to be priorities in budget 2027. Read ISME’s pre-budget submission here -https://isme.ie/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/ISME-Pre-Budget-Submission-2027.pdf

ISME’s pre-budget submission 2027 has just one priority- SCALE. The Irish economy has become too dependent on foreign companies for its tax base. Our Indigenous Enterprise Paper was published in March and describes the “WHAT” we need to scale SMEs.
The pre-budget paper describes the “HOW” across seven recommendations:
o Our tax system (entrepreneurial and employee) must encourage scale-up
o Don’t pick winners- focus on providing a competitive indigenous enterprise base
o Providing businesses with ready and affordable access to capital
o Spend NTF money on in-work and work adjacent training. It’s employers’ money!
o Attract only FDI businesses which have positive spill-over effects for indigenous enterprise
o Enterprise policy must drive tax policy, not the other way round
o The Italians did this in 2016, and overtook Japan as a global exporter last year. This works
ISME’s Pre-Budget Submission - https://isme.ie/isme-budget-2027-submission

We make our ISME Ireland in-person events reflect the journey of business – introducing the Leadership and Networking forum in Cork with our partners Jobs.ie

We start with updates on the market and the macro; onto trends around effective recruitment and retention, the value continuous learning and upskilling provides, using grants to save money and create a sustainable business, then sharing your story through pitching to your peers. Next, protecting what you’ve built with insights into fraud detection and prevention; and how to use HR as a catalyst rather than just compliance.

With networking, storytelling, and sharing best practice throughout.
Register for this FREE event today:

📅 Wednesday, June 24th
📍 Clayton Hotel, Cork City, T12 RD6E
🕗 8:00 am – 11:30 am (breakfast served from 7:30 am)

Scan the QR code to register or click on the link below

https://isme.ie/isme-leadership-networking-forum-2026-cork

Urging all ISME members to make sure they understand and have taken the required steps relating to the EU Pay Transparency Directive. Take time review the FAQ sheet in this month’s Newsletter before Sunday 7th June. While the Government says implementation will be “phased” with a pragmatic grace period on initial enforcement, you need to be prepared for any questions that come from the most important stakeholders - your own employees! Key points include:
* Provide pay information early in recruitment
* Ensure employees can discuss pay without restriction
* Respond to employee pay information requests
* Clearly explain how pay is determined
Not a member of ISME ? Get in touch today and have complete confidence on HR compliance. https://isme.ie/eu-pay-transparency-directive-faq-sheet

Calling all Members 📢 Your June Members' Monthly is now available to read and download. This issue contains latest news and events, HR updates and upcoming learning opportunities with ISME Skillnet.

Read here: https://zurl.co/VHzmc

ISME Ireland’s Neil McDonnell, Finbarr Filan, and Ross McCarthy yesterday met Barry Cowen, MEP for the Midlands North-West constituency to discuss ISME Ireland’s Indigenous Enterprise Policy Paper. Supporting the Everyday Entrepreneur is critical for Ireland’s future and ISME has called for a fundamental shift in Ireland’s economic strategy to better support indigenous businesses and reduce the State’s reliance on multinational corporations. ISME is working hard to secure commitment for our recommendations! Read the policy paper here -https://isme.ie/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/ISME-Indigenous-Enterprise-Policy-ISME-March-2026.pdf

Thinking Big when Promoting Small. Smeunited 's Board of Directors yesterday met with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. On the agenda: how EU policies can better reflect the reality of SMEs. ISME Ireland are proud to endorse the message that policymaking must reflect the reality of micro companies, which make up the majority of businesses across Europe. Read the full press release here - https://isme.ie/smeunited-discusses-sme-friendly-policy-with-president-von-der-leyen