One in four Irish companies say that the impact of the UK’s impending exit from the European Union is their biggest fear for 2017, according to a survey by Dublin Chamber of Commerce.
“It is hard to quantify the full effect that Brexit will have on the Irish economy, but the survey shows that businesses are still concerned about the potential for serious negative impact if the process is not managed correctly,” Dublin Chamber CEO, Mary Rose Burke said. “Given the close economic ties between Ireland and Britain – with over € 1 billion worth of goods and services traded between the two territories every week - it is vital that our trading links with the UK are protected, even as we maintain our strong commitment to Europe,” she added.
The survey, carried out in early December, found that one in four companies see Brexit as their number one concern when looking ahead to the coming 12 months. Labour costs were the next biggest concern, with one in six firms citing them as their biggest worry for the year ahead. A similar number (15%) cited skills shortages as the biggest threat to their business in 2017, while political uncertainty in Ireland was also identified as a concern.
When asked about the trading outlook for the year ahead, two out of fove companies (41%) said they are more optimistic about the prospects for their business in 2017 than they were 12 months ago, although 31 per cent said they are less optimistic, with 28 per cent saying that their outlook is unchanged from this time last year.
Around half of companies surveyed (49%) said they expect to increase staff headcount in 2016. A further 42% say that their staff levels will remain the same, with less than one in 10 firms (9%) indicating that they expect to reduce employee numbers.
“The prospect of job creation is very encouraging given the amount of political uncertainty we see both abroad and at home. However, the overall feeling amongst firms going into the year ahead is one of cautious optimism. This is unsurprising given the number of concerns being flagged by companies. The survey results offer a window into the areas which must be addressed by Government and decision makers in 2017 if businesses are to be able to prosper, grow and create jobs,” Ms Burke said.
In terms of profitability, 44 per cent of firms say that they expect to be more profitable in 2017 than they were in 2016. Just over one third (37%) said they expect profitability to remain the same.
