Poor consumer confidence hits recovery
According to Deloitte’s pre-budget chief executive forum – which questioned the concerns of 129 Irish business leaders – weak consumer confidence is the “greatest single challenge facing Irish businesses” at the moment, outstripping other popular bugbears such as poor credit flows, bad debt levels and exchange rate volatility.
“It is no surprise that chief executives have highlighted consumer confidence and the lack of a detailed Government step plan to drive recovery in the economy as the two most significant challenges to the recovery of their businesses. They are essentially two sides of the same coin,” commented Paul Reck, Deloitte’s head of tax policy.
“While the Government is to be commended for many of the steps it has taken to address our recent difficulties it could definitely do more to engender confidence that it has a clear strategy for recovery underpinning its actions, to properly set it out with its impacts and then to communicate it.
“A clear strategy and plan for its implementation with its implications for businesses will give much needed certainty to business and in turn generate confidence in consumers,” he added.
Those surveyed as part of this year’s Deloitte leaders’ forum have called on the Government to come up with a detailed step-by-step plan for recovery. When asked what will improve the business environment, respondents said that the Government should take the lead in helping to restore consumer confidence by establishing a focused recovery.
Addressing credit availability issues and getting NAMA up and running were secondary concerns.
Respondents also called for more state support in helping to retain employment levels, while nearly 20% called for a reduction in State charges.
