ONLY half of senior executives trust the EU to deliver a favourable post-Brexit deal for Ireland, although 80 per cent trust the Irish government to act in their best interests as negotiations near their conclusion.
A snapshot of Irish business leaders by executive search firm Ardlinn (a division of Cpl Group) also showed that 69 per cent of so-called 'C-level' (chief executives, chief operations officer and chief financial officers) respondents favour closer all-Ireland economic ties post-Brexit.
Some 94 per cent believe Brexit will negatively impact on cross-border trade, yet only 31 per cent say tariff-free trade with the UK is essential to their business.
The research highlights a clear split in the level of confidence and trust towards the EU senior negotiation team with Brexit deadline looming. There is now growing concern among influential business leaders that Ireland’s interests could fall down the EU’s agenda.
Áine Brolly, founder and director of Ardlinn, said: “For the first time we are seeing real evidence of a widely held view that the interests of Ireland could well be abandoned in the critical phase of the Brexit negotiations.
"Despite the Irish government and the EU conveying a strong message of unity to date, with so much still up in the air, business is understandably suspicious about what the future holds.
"The overwhelming view that the Irish government is acting in the best interests of the business community will provide a boost for the taoiseach and tanaiste’s negotiating strategy.
"But following a highly turbulent period at Westminster with resignations and the Chequers Deal amendments, business leaders are wary of further developments."
