16/10/2026
🇮🇪 HOW MUCH MORE CAN SMALL IRISH BUSINESSES TAKE?
A message to the Government, our politicians, the media, and every person who cares about the future of Irish businesses.
From Kiltorcan Raceway, County Kilkenny.
I’m writing this as a business owner, an employer, and someone who is genuinely concerned about where Ireland is heading.
And I know I’m not alone.
At Kiltorcan Raceway, we employ approximately 25 people. We provide jobs, contribute to the local economy, pay our bills, pay our taxes, and provide an activity where families, friends, and communities can come together and enjoy themselves.
But I’m asking a very simple question.
HOW MUCH MORE ARE SMALL BUSINESSES EXPECTED TO ABSORB BEFORE SOMETHING HAS TO GIVE?
The cost of running a business in Ireland is becoming increasingly difficult to sustain.
Wages. Employer PRSI. Insurance. Petrol. Electricity. Tyres. Maintenance. Transportation. Taxes. The list goes on.
These aren’t luxuries for a business. They’re the costs of keeping the doors open.
On a typical operating day at Kiltorcan Raceway, we need approximately 12 staff members to run the business safely and efficiently. Four in reception and eight on track.
That’s 12 people who need to be paid before we’ve accounted for a single litre of petrol, a single tyre, a single electricity bill, or any of the other costs associated with operating a karting circuit.
And when the cost of employing people rises, when insurance premiums increase, and when fuel and electricity become more expensive, where exactly is that money supposed to come from?
WE CANNOT PRINT MONEY. WE HAVE TO EARN IT.
And that brings me to the part that concerns me most.
THE CUSTOMER ALWAYS ENDS UP PAYING.
If our costs increase, we have two choices: absorb those increases ourselves or pass some of them on to our customers.
But absorbing them indefinitely isn’t sustainable.
At Kiltorcan Raceway, we may have to increase our prices by €3–€4 per session simply to help cover the rising cost of operating the business.
Let that sink in.
We don’t want to price families out of karting. We don’t want parents having to think twice about bringing their children for an activity. We don’t want our customers choosing between enjoying a day out and paying their household bills.
But what choice do we have when the costs of running the business keep increasing?
And here’s the contradiction nobody seems to have a proper answer for.
If we increase our prices, some customers may decide they can no longer afford to come.
If we keep our prices low, we risk not making enough money to cover our costs.
So do we charge less and struggle to survive, or charge more and risk losing the very customers who keep us in business?
BEING BUSY DOESN’T NECESSARILY MEAN YOU’RE MAKING MONEY.
This is the trap small businesses are being pushed into.
AND THE CYCLE JUST GOES ROUND AND ROUND.
Employees need higher wages because the cost of living is rising.
Businesses need more revenue to pay those wages and cover their own increasing costs.
Businesses raise prices to generate that revenue.
Customers then find that their wages don’t stretch as far because everything costs more.
They cut back on spending.
Businesses lose customers.
And businesses struggle even more to survive.
Round and round we go.
At what point does somebody stand back and ask whether this is actually sustainable?
I am not blaming workers for wanting fair wages. I am not blaming families for struggling with the cost of living. And I am certainly not blaming customers for choosing to put groceries, electricity, heating, and essential household expenses before a day of karting.
I completely understand those decisions.
THE PROBLEM IS THAT EVERYONE IS UNDER PRESSURE, AND SMALL BUSINESSES ARE BEING SQUEEZED FROM BOTH SIDES.
WHERE IS THE SUPPORT FOR THE PEOPLE WHO EMPLOY PEOPLE?
Government, I’m asking you directly.
You want businesses to employ people. You want businesses to pay fair wages. You want businesses to pay their taxes. You want businesses to invest, grow, and contribute to the Irish economy.
But what practical support is being provided to help small and medium-sized enterprises manage the cumulative cost of doing all of these things?
SMEs are not huge multinational corporations with enormous financial reserves. They are ordinary people who have taken risks, invested their money, created jobs, and built businesses that serve their communities.
When costs rise, we don’t have an endless pot of money to dip into.
We have to make decisions.
And increasingly, those decisions are between increasing prices, accepting lower margins, reducing costs elsewhere, cutting staffing, or questioning whether continuing to operate is financially viable.
That is a frightening position for any employer to find themselves in.
And when a small business closes, it isn’t just a business that disappears.
Jobs disappear.
Families lose income.
Suppliers lose customers.
Communities lose services.
And the State may ultimately face additional costs associated with unemployment while losing the tax revenue that business activity generated.
How does that benefit anybody?
LEISURE BUSINESSES ARE NOT IMMUNE.
Karting is a leisure activity. It is something people choose to spend their disposable income on.
But disposable income is precisely what disappears when the essentials become too expensive.
People will always prioritise putting food on the table over going karting. We understand that. We would do exactly the same.
But Ireland also needs places where families can enjoy themselves, where young people can find employment, where tourists can spend money, and where communities have opportunities to come together.
These businesses matter too.
We cannot expect family entertainment, tourism, hospitality, and leisure businesses to remain affordable while the costs of operating them continue to rise without consequence.
There has to be a limit.
THIS IS A WARNING, NOT A THREAT.
I am not writing this because I want sympathy. I am writing it because I believe this conversation needs to happen before more businesses reach breaking point.
At Kiltorcan Raceway, we want to keep our prices as reasonable as possible. We want to keep all our staff employed. We want to continue investing in our facilities and providing a great experience for our customers.
But we also have a responsibility to run a financially sustainable business.
We cannot continually absorb rising costs and pretend everything is fine.
And we cannot endlessly increase prices and expect customers to have the money to pay them.
THE GOVERNMENT NEEDS TO RECOGNISE THAT SUPPORTING SMALL BUSINESSES MEANS SUPPORTING THE PEOPLE THEY EMPLOY AND THE CUSTOMERS THEY SERVE.
We need meaningful action on the cumulative cost of employment, a serious review of the financial burden placed on SMEs, and practical engagement with the business owners who are dealing with these pressures every single day.
Not just another discussion.
Not just another promise.
Practical measures that make a difference.
I’M ASKING THREE QUESTIONS.
To the Government and our politicians: What are you going to do to make it sustainable for small Irish businesses to employ people, pay their bills, and remain affordable to their customers?
To the media: Will you help bring the reality facing small Irish businesses into the national conversation before more jobs and businesses are lost?
To fellow business owners: Are you facing the same situation? Are your costs rising while your customers have less money to spend? Are you being forced to increase prices even though you know it could cost you bookings and customers?
I would genuinely like to hear your experiences.
Because I refuse to believe that the only answer is to keep increasing prices until ordinary families can no longer afford the things they enjoy and small businesses can no longer afford to operate.
WE CANNOT KEEP SQUEEZING THE SAME PEOPLE AND EXPECT A DIFFERENT RESULT.
Ireland needs successful businesses. It needs jobs. It needs people spending money in their local communities. It needs families who can afford to enjoy life beyond paying bills.
Small businesses are part of what makes that possible.
But we need an environment in which we can survive, employ people, and provide affordable services without being pushed closer to the edge every year.
I’m proud of what we have built at Kiltorcan Raceway, proud of our team, and proud to provide employment in County Kilkenny.
I want us to continue doing that for many years to come.
But the question remains:
HOW MUCH MORE CAN SMALL IRISH BUSINESSES TAKE — AND WHO IS GOING TO STAND UP FOR THEM?
I am asking our Government, our elected representatives, and our national media to take this seriously.
And I am asking other business owners and the public to join this conversation.
Please share this post. Tag your local TDs, Government representatives, journalists, and radio stations. Let’s get this discussion out into the open.
