The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Company chiefs confident ahead of ‘Brexit Day’
NEARLY double the number of business directors believe Ireland’s status in a post-Brexit EU will be enhanced (39 per cent) than diminished (20 per cent), and an overwhelming majority (89 per cent) believe Ireland needs to actively address improving relations with the UK after the latter leaves the EU on Friday, January 31, so-called ‘Brexit Day’.
These are two of the key findings in the latest quarterly Director Sentiment Monitor, conducted among its members at the end of Q4 2019, and published on Monday by the Institute of Directors in Ireland (IODI).
“Business leaders have told us consistently in our quarterly surveys that they are well prepared for Brexit despite all the uncertainty of the past year, in particular. While it is encouraging that the Ireland-EU relationship has held firm during the Brexit process to date and is looked upon with some optimism by directors, it is Ireland’s relationship with the UK that is a cause for some concern and needs to be addressed, after what has been an arduous and challenging Brexit process,” said IODI CEO Maura Quinn.
In other conclusive findings in the survey, 88 per cent of business leaders believe that Brexit’s impact on the Irish economy will be negative in the short-term, while just six per cent believe it will be positive in the short term.