A new snap poll survey by the Institute of Directors (IoD) in Ireland has found that 34% of business leaders say they are optimistic that October’s forthcoming National Economic Plan will provide a roadmap for an economic recovery, while a further 34% are unsure and another 31% are not optimistic that it will do so.
Furthermore, a majority of 63% of business leaders feels, either significantly or marginally, that the Government’s recently announced ‘Resilience and Recovery 2020-2021: Plan for Living with COVID-19’ provides a roadmap for moving from a short-term to medium-term management of the COVID-19 pandemic, while 33% do not.
The survey also found that business leaders are less enthusiastic about the potential impact on business recovery of the upcoming Budget 2021, with 42% believing it will not include sufficient supports to assist businesses in Ireland to recover from the impact of COVID-19 and 30% believing it will.
These survey results are from the concluding section of an IoD Ireland snap poll survey that was conducted between 17th - 21st September 2020, amongst the IoD’s 3,000 members, comprising CEOs/Managing Directors and company directors from all sectors of the economy, private, public and not-for-profit. 325 business leaders (IoD members) responded to the survey, which had a 94% completion rate. The first part of the survey included findings related to digital transformation, remote working and work-life balance and the results were published on the 24th September 2020.
Maura Quinn, Chief Executive of the Institute of Directors in Ireland said:
“This pandemic rollercoaster is presenting innumerable challenges now and will do so into the near future. Business leaders are understandably cautious about the way ahead, with many facing the biggest challenges of their professional lives. Their businesses and workforces are coping with measures designed to lower the public health risks, but which are unavoidably also impacting society and wider economic activity. The key will be managing it in a commensurate way while science searches for a way to defeat this coronavirus. The Government will need to ensure clear and concise guidance and direction in the National Economic Plan, complemented by easy-to-access business support measures, to ensure businesses in Ireland will be able survive.”
The key findings of the IoD snap poll include:
National Economic Plan: When asked, ‘Are you optimistic that the forthcoming National Economic Plan will provide a roadmap for an economic recovery?’, the respondents replied as follows:
- Yes: 34%
- Don't know: 34%
- No: 31%
‘Resilience and Recovery 2020-2021: Plan for Living with COVID-19’: When asked, ‘Do you believe the Government’s new ‘Resilience and Recovery 2020-2021: Plan for Living with COVID-19’ is comprehensive and clear, and provides a roadmap for future months?’, the business leaders chose as follows:
- Moderately agree: 57%
- Moderately disagree: 21%
- Strongly disagree: 12%
- Strongly agree: 6%
- Don’t know: 4%
The October Budget: When asked, ‘Are you optimistic that the forthcoming Government Budget will include sufficient supports to assist businesses in Ireland to recover from the impact of COVID-19?’ the respondents replied as follows:
- No: 42%
- Yes: 30%
- Don't know: 28%
The findings in this survey have been rounded up or down to the nearest decimal point.