Irish business leaders increasingly upbeat over economy

Owner managers in Ireland are feeling more upbeat about the economy, according to a new survey that shows increased confidence among businesses around the world.

The annual Sage Business Index, which surveyed close to 14,000 SMEs in 18 countries, shows that for the first time in four years, companies are feeling more optimistic, with scores rising above 50 across all three areas surveyed. These include their own prospects; their national economies; and the global economy.

The study shows that Irish businesses are increasingly feeling more positive about their own prospects with confidence rising 2.92 points to 64.99, the highest it has been in two years. Confidence in the national economy has seen a large increase, rising 10.45 points to 58.67. Irish businesses also believe the global economy is improving, with confidence increasing three points in the last twelve months to 51.68.

However, only one-in-ten business decision makers in Ireland said they felt they are being supported in their ambitions to grow their exports. As many as 41 per cent of Irish respondents said the Government should offer greater financial incentives to help their businesses grow exports.

"It's encouraging that confidence continues to build in Ireland's economy and that small and medium sized businesses are optimistic about the prospects for their own operations and the economy. This is underlined by other positive economic indicators such as the recent Exchequer figures that showed increasing consumer confidence in the domestic economy and lower unemployment rates," said Brendan Flattery, chief executive of Sage UK and Ireland.

“However, more must be done to support businesses with ambitions to grow their exports - a key factor in the continued growth of the Irish economy and something that should be addressed in next week’s Budget, “ he added.

According to the survey, countries are split over the prospects for the European economy. Businesses in Ireland and Spain are most confident scoring 56.40 and 54.14 respectively, while the UK, Germany and Poland are all more optimistic than pessimistic. However, in Austria, Switzerland and Portugal the reverse is true, with all countries scoring below 50. France is the most pessimistic about the European economy of all nations surveyed, scoring just 44.08.

A majority of business leaders surveyed said they anticipate turnover will rise over the next 12 months by an average of 3.2 per cent. Almost half of all businesses also said they expected the number of people employed by their company to rise by an average of 2.7 people.