A new survey of Irish businesses conducted for leading corporate law firm LK Shields shows that 66% of Irish businesses believe there is too much red tape involved in doing business in Ireland.
 
The new research, carried out among 300 Irish businesses of all sizes, assesses the burden that red tape places on Irish businesses across all sectors and seeks to gain a greater understanding of how compliance and regulation affects the Irish business market. 
 
The data shows that the large majority (85%) of respondents believe that the cost burden associated with regulation in Ireland needs to be significantly reduced. Three in five business agree that an independent body should be established to review the impact red tape has on Ireland’s competitiveness. 
 
The 2015 Red Tape Survey focused on large and small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) across all sectors in Ireland, including the service, retail, finance, manufacturing and construction industries. Over 80% of businesses surveyed employ between 25-99 people, while 9% employ 100-249 and 8% employ more than 250 people. 

Of the businesses with 25-99 employees, only 22% state that Ireland's regulatory environment is more attractive than overseas markets, while that figure rises to 39% of businesses with over 100 employees.
 
Head of Financial Services at corporate law firm LK Shields, Mr David Williams said, "As advisors to leading Irish companies, we see first-hand the burden red tape places on businesses of all sizes in Ireland.

"We acknowledge and support the necessity of robust regulation in all business sectors, but we also firmly believe that much greater efficiencies can be achieved without letting regulatory standards slip, particularly when it comes to the administrative burden of compliance.  Our Red Tape Survey will hopefully spark much-needed debate and action to resolve the issues highlighted."

Source: www.businessworld.ie