Over half of Irish directors lack confidence in Govt

The research, which was conducted by Behaviour & Attitudes among 240 of IoD Ireland’s members, found that 70pc believe not enough is being done to resolve the economic crisis quickly enough.

A further 60pc of directors also do not have confidence that the Government has the resolve and ability to lead Ireland out of the current economic crisis. This figure is slightly lower among Irish-owned companies (56pc) but rises to over two-thirds (68pc) among multinationals.

However, less than half of directors said they think a change of Government would restore business confidence in Ireland.

Who is responsible?
Asked who is responsible for the current economic crisis, two-thirds (67pc) of directors cite the Government, 60pc claim that the banks are responsible, while 26pc believe that regulators are to blame for the current situation. Meanwhile 1 in 5 of directors attribute responsibility to society as a whole, while 16pc hold property developers responsible.

Government performance
When looking at the Irish Government’s handling of the current economic crisis and comparing its performance with the UK, US, Germany and Greece, just over half (52pc) of Irish directors say its performance is worse than the UK, with 79pc saying it is performing at a worse rate than the US and 88pc claiming its performance is worse than Germany.

However, almost all directors (95pc) said the Irish Government is performing at a better rate than its counterpart in Greece.

Prospects for 2010
In terms of the prospects for Irish business in 2010, over half (57pc) of directors surveyed are pessimistic about the broader business climate in Ireland. However, the level of optimism has more than doubled when compared to similar research conducted in 2008. Some 41pc of Irish directors are now optimistic about the broader business climate, compared to just 18pc in 2008.

The research also showed that Irish-owned companies are more optimistic (45pc) than multinationals (38pc), and that the highest levels of optimism are among those companies with a turnover of €5m or over (41pc) and those employing between 25 and 100 staff (50pc).

Regarding the outlook for their own company over the next 12 months, almost 75pc of directors are optimistic.

Some 82pc of directors claim that competing for business is a challenge, with 73pc also citing remaining profitable and providing better value as challenges. Interestingly, cutting costs presents a challenge for just half of businesses (50pc), while keeping afloat (36pc) and negotiating rents downwards (36pc) are seen as less challenging.

Restoring business confidence
When questioned on what is needed to restore business confidence, almost all directors cited freeing up credit to business (96pc), stability in financial markets (95pc) and maintaining low interest rates (93pc). In addition, 77pc said a reduction in government spending was also needed, while over half (57pc) cited the transfer of loans to NAMA as necessary to restore business confidence.

Taking steps to boost business and public confidence (99pc), reducing energy costs (93pc) and promoting Irish goods (91pc) were also all cited as being important to alleviating business hardships.

“What these results show is that directors in Ireland do not have confidence in the political leadership of this country,” said the chief executive of the Institute of Directors in Ireland, Maura Quinn (pictured).

“Sentiment for the broader business climate remains pessimistic, with freeing up credit and financial stability being key to recovery. We are seeing signs of improvement though, with challenges shifting from the survival mode of the past and the majority of directors claiming to be optimistic about the outlook for their own businesses,” she added.

Pictured: the chief executive of the Institute of Directors in Ireland, Maura Quinn

^{Photo - Jason Clarke Photography}