A new survey has shown that conditions for Irish businesses remain tough but are not as bad as they were earlier in the year.
The Autumn business sentiment survey was carried out by KBC Ireland and Chartered Accountants Ireland and covered 340 companies. It also showed an improvement in how businesses felt about the broader Irish economy.
22% of businesses reported stronger levels of activity in the past three months, while 49% reported weaker conditions. KBC Ireland economist Austin Hughes said that while this figure was much lower than at any time in the past year, it still pointed to broadly-based problems for Irish firms.
He also said the weakest results in the survey were no longer from the construction sector, but from businesses which relied on consumer spending. In contrast, more manufacturing and business services firms indicated that business levels had picked up.
The survey also showed that 33% of firms felt more optimistic about the Irish economy, while 29% gave a more negative assessment. This was the first time more firms were upbeat since the survey started in late 2007.
On NAMA, 56% of firms felt the Government was right to adopt this approach, though 27% were unsure and 35% of businesses felt NAMA would make no difference to the amount of bank lending.
