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Almost a third of company owners unsure of who to vote for in election

Written by Robert McHugh, on 3rd Feb 2016. Posted in Ireland

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BDO have today released findings from their quarterly poll of business leaders regarding election concerns.
 
The BDO Optimism index is a quarterly survey of 350 Irish Businesses.

It has been conducted every quarter for over six years by leading market researchers Behaviour and Attitudes. Respondents are all Business owners, CEO’s or leading Managers within the organisations. 
 
When asked which political party best represents their needs, 31% of businesses said they were still undecided, and 14% said none of the parties. Thirty per cent of business owners said Fine Gael best addressed their business’ needs, Fianna Fáil 7%, Labour 2% and Sinn Fein 2%.
 
Eighty per cent of company owners said they would like to see the next government make changes to employee related taxes, with 78% saying the next government needs to improve Ireland’s infrastructure.  
 
A total of 50% of all businesses surveyed said Brexit is issue, an increase from the 35% who raised the issue as a significant concern in the previous BDO poll during the summer of 2015. 

Difficulty securing credit and funding from financial institutions is still a problem for business despite the upturn in the economy over the past number of years, with 56% of those surveyed saying they’d like to see the next government address the issue.
 
Managing Partner of BDO, Michael Costello said, "It is clear that Irish businesses still face significant challenges, despite the economic growth we have enjoyed in Ireland over recent years. Issues beyond the control of any Irish government, such as the possibility of Brexit are an increasing concern as the debate within the UK over its future in Europe intensifies."

He added, "When it comes to political support for specific parties it appears that many business owners haven’t yet made up their minds. What will be of most interest to business owners is seeing the issues which concern them most, addressed by the political parties in the coming weeks."

Source: www.businessworld.ie

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