Top bosses lukewarm on Government’s performance
Company directors in Ireland by a large margin approved the Government’s handling of the Brexit negotiations, but were less impressed by its overall performance, according to the latest survey by the Institute of Directors in Ireland.
The quarterly survey also showed most of Ireland’s top bosses continue to feel that the next Government will need “to actively address” damaged relations with the UK after Brexit.
Despite the uncertainty thrown up by the negotiations, 70% of directors rated the Government’s Brexit performance as “good to excellent”.
Many directors, however, rated the Government’s general performance in the last three months of 2019 as only “fair”.
“When asked to rate the Government’s performance in Q4 2019, just 2% of business leaders rated it as excellent, 13% as very good, and 34% as good.
"While 13% rated it as poor, the biggest group (38%) rated the Government’s performance as fair,” the IoD said.
The IoD believes that the relationship with the UK is “a cause for some concern and needs to be addressed”.
“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 IoD chief executive Maura Quinn.
The survey showed that a majority of directors believe the finances of their companies will improve this year, and identified Ireland, the rest of the EU, the UK, the US, and China as among the most promising markets.
On recruitment, most directors said the availability of skilled workers had lessened in the final quarter.
Meanwhile, a leading consultancy has said that Brexit uncertainty will likely weigh on the outlook for the British economy.
“While the size of the government’s majority in parliament has strengthened its hand in negotiations with Brussels, Brexit uncertainty is likely to hang over the economy for at least the next year,” said Neil Shearing, group chief economist at Capital Economics.
