Munster business owners 'most frustrated in country' at pace of infrastructure delivery 

S&W in Ireland managing partner John O’Callaghan says Munster businesses are managing their own risk well but believe 'they are held back by delivery failures outside their control'. 

Three in four business owners in Munster say the slow pace of infrastructure delivery is threatening Ireland’s economic competitiveness - the strongest regional concern raised in a national sentiment survey published on Wednesday.

The Business Owners Sentiment Survey took the views of 500 business owners in the Republic of Ireland each with a turnover of €5m or more. The responses included 107 respondents from businesses in the Munster region.

It found that 75% of business owners in Munster felt the pace of infrastructure delivery threatened Ireland’s long-term economic competitiveness, compared with 67% nationally. Business owners in Munster were also more likely to say infrastructure deficits were directly affecting their organisation’s operational decisions (68%, against 65% nationally), and more likely to say judicial reviews were contributing significantly to delays in infrastructure planning applications (71%, against 67% nationally).

At the same time, business owners in Munster were also more optimistic overall than other regions. Just 22% of Munster business owners surveyed said defaulting on debt was likely in their business in the next 12 months, compared with 36% nationally. Fewer than one in three (31%) said losing key staff or employees was likely, against 40% nationally, while 34% said supply chain disruption was likely, against 39% nationally.

'It’s a national competitiveness problem'

“Business owners in Munster are telling us two things at once. They’re notably calmer than the rest of the country about the risks to business such as debt, staff retention, cyber threats and supply chains. But when it comes to infrastructure, they’re the most frustrated group in the entire survey," said John O’Callaghan, S&W in Ireland managing partner. “That combination should matter to policymakers. These are businesses managing their own risk well but believe they are held back by delivery failures outside their control. 

"Fixing the pace of infrastructure delivery isn’t a Dublin problem or a Munster problem, it’s a national competitiveness problem. The findings in our Business Owners Sentiment Survey
2026 Report show that business owners in Munster are feeling it most acutely.”

Among business owners in Munster, 30% believe data breaches or cyber-attacks are likely, compared with 39% nationally.

Overall, when asked about their wishlist for Budget 2927, business owners across Ireland said reform of capital gains tax and personal tax were priorities. The Government’s economic strategy commanded confidence in 77% of business owners surveyed but 65% felt that Capital Gains Tax should be reduced to 20%, while 63% believe that Ireland’s personal tax regime is a barrier in their ability to attract and retain senior talent. 

There was also strong dissatisfaction felt about housing with 63% of respondents nationally saying housing shortages make it difficult to attract candidates to relocate to Ireland. 64% say housing shortages have influenced decisions on where to locate offices or facilities. 

While 71% of respondents said AI was leading to increased efficiencies or productivity, AI is also driving redundancies and hiring freezes. Over a third of business owners surveyed say hiring freezes or redundancies are likely at their business in the next 12 months. with AI or automation cited as the biggest reasons.