Accounting firm PwC has spoken to 195 chief executives of Irish companies for its annual CEO pulse survey and two out of every five say they plan to hire additional staff this year.
Just under half or 44% say they are positive about the growth prospects for their businesses.
However only 22% are positive about the Irish economy.
The majority of the international CEOs surveyed say they consider their investment in Ireland a success with a third (34%) considering increasing this investment here.
The survey, carried out in April 2012, also shows 40% plan to grow employment levels over 2012/13 and a further 40% will hold employment levels.
Continued difficult trading conditions in Ireland, the euro zone crisis and overall global volatility have all played a part in the findings in the survey.
Half of all Irish companies plan to expand into foreign markets with Central/Eastern Europe (42%), the UK (40%) and China (32%) being the top three favourite hotspots.
"It is clear that Irish companies continue to address significant challenges and are actively targeting opportunities in international markets. There continues to be a strong focus on change and efficiency with a renewed emphasis on organisation agility and talent management. The survey suggests that businesses are positioning themselves for growth opportunities, albeit such growth will, initially, be sector and market specific," said Ronan Murphy, Senior Partner, PwC.
