The Small Firms Association (SFA) has said it expects to see further job losses this year as investment and business confidence continue to weaken.
Meanwhile, rival small firms lobby group ISME has dismissed the recent survey by the Irish Bankers Federation (IBF) of bank charges "as a pathetic attempt to justify the banks' abuse of their dominant position".
It said the survey, which set out to show that Irish banks compared well with their European counterparts, was selective in the products it highlighted, the countries it compared and the information that was forwarded.
"There is no mention of the number of unseen charges that are imposed by Irish banks including set-off and uncleared interest, exorbitant management fees and the fact that the banks have introduced an additional 20 new charges over the last three years, which contribute greatly to the overall cost of banking in Ireland," ISME said.
It also noted that France had been left out of the comparisons made in the survey.
As part of the Competition Authority investigation into the banking sector, ISME is commissioning an independent report which it will present to the authority.
Meanwhile, in its spring economic statement the SFA said the coming months would pose significant threats to economic stability in Ireland.
"The Irish economy looks set to perform weakly in the first half of the year, placing further pressure on employment prospects.
"The tourism sector is facing wipe-out and insurance costs continue to undermine the cost base of business," the SFA said.
While a stronger euro should ease inflationary pressure, it will put added pressure on many export businesses which face higher production costs than their competitors, the association warned.
It also cautioned that increases in health, education and energy costs have reduced the real benefit of a stronger currency and lower interest rates.
It warned that the tourism sector in particular, which employs 30,000 directly and a further 42,000 in seasonal and tourist-related industries, is facing a crisis.
It called for immediate support to be put in place. This support should focus on developing a foothold in the European market, the SFA added, noting there are 300 million citizens in the European Union, yet less than 1.5 per cent visited Ireland last year.
It also warned that lack of progress on insurance reform would result in many company closures over coming months.
