Insignia Richard Gunne's annual economic survey reveals that Irish CEOs believe the state of the Government finances is now the most critical issue needing to be addressed over the next three years.
46% of respondents to the survey, which involved 1,000 Chief Executives of Irish companies, cited the state of Government finances as a cause for concern. A further 27% identified infrastructure as the most important issue for the Government.
'The importance of continuing to invest in infrastructure can not be over emphasised,' commented Pat Gunne, CEO of Insignia Richard Gunne. 'Transport and infrastructure will be the primary impediments to growth in the next boom period if we do not act now'.
'With the Budget to be announced today, we urge the Government to continue with its infrastructural plans so that Ireland will be at the forefront when the economy ultimately recovers,' he added.
The survey also found that property emerged as the preferred investment choice of CEOs in 2002, with 54% of respondents saying that their preference for investment has changed during the last year.
34% of respondents listed Irish residential property as their number one investment option, compared to 24% who listed equities, 10% of listed bank deposit and a further 10% who listed Irish commercial property.
The survey said that the downturn in the US economy and the slowdown in the IT sector were deemed to be the factors which had the most negative effect on the Irish economy in 2002. Just 2% of Irish bosses see the US economy recovering within six months with 50% estimating that the recovery will not be likely for between one to two years.
80% of respondents to the survey also said that they expect foreign direct investment to fall further in 2003, with only 5% expecting even a slight improvement in investment levels next year.
57% of Irish bosses expect the economy to grow by between 2% and 4% next year, the survey says. 8% are more optimistic as they predict growth of between 4% and 7%, while 2% expect zero growth in 2002.
The survey also indicates that most companies expect inflation to remain stable or to fall further in 2002, while 47% of Irish companies surveyed expect interest rates to remain stable at current levels.
