The Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association says its members experienced severe difficulties in the first three months of this year. In its latest quarterly survey, the organisation says sales and exports were at an all-time low, while investment, employment and general business activity had also declined. It says half of all companies have shed jobs in the past year and 42% are expecting to make more cuts. ISME is also predicting that the next year will be extremely challenging for small and medium-sized firms.