The difficult current economic climate has prompted one Tullamore based small business owner to move his business from Ireland by registering instead in the UK. As a result, he claims he has been offered hundreds of thousands of euro in grants from the British government, and is able to significantly reduce his wages, insurance and other costs.

John Walsh, who runs K9 Ireland, a private security and "sniffer dog" drug detection service, told the Sunday Tribune that he has already been offered two grants of £100,000 sterling each, after he decided to register two businesses in Britain – one in Berkshire and the other in Liverpool.

He also claims that by making the move to England, his staff, who will continue to be based primarily in Ireland, will be paid in sterling, with tax revenue generated by their work going to the British government.

He estimates that by doing this, he will reduce his wage bill by approximately €44,000 per year, based on the costs associated with employing 10 permanent security staff.

He also revealed that he received an insurance quote as an English based business which was around one third of the equivalent quote for an Irish based business.

Mr Walsh, who holds a Private Security Authority licence for security and electrical solutions, also runs a separate electrical contracting company.

He says the typical cost of employing 10 staff for this type of business would reduce even further – by some €110,000 annually – were he to relocate to Britain.

K9 Ireland is a supplier of specialist drugs and explosives dogs / handler detection services. It also provides more traditional security services to both the domestic and commercial market.

In an interview with this newspaper, Mr Walsh, who has been in business for 20 years, said he had chosen to register in the UK out of "sheer frustration" with the increasing amount of "red tape" which small businesses such as his own are facing.

"In order for me to try and survive, I have to look at all options that are there for me, and the most cost effective way for me to provide a service," he said. "It's a climate now for tightening the belt."

While his company is still registered here, he says he ultimately intends to channel all of his business through the UK.

"I would absolutely rather not be doing this. It is actually sad that somebody has to go to these lengths to survive," he said. "But I think there has to be some sort of a break made for small businesses."