1/3 of business owners say global and trade uncertainties among top 3 concerns

A third of business owners across the island of Ireland have identified global politics and trade uncertainties among the top three concerns for businesses.
Business sentiment across the island of Ireland remains resilient this year, however tariff confusion is impacting confidence.
The latest All-island Business Monitor by InterTradeIreland is the first comprehensive, all-island sentiment survey of business owners since the announcement of US trade tariffs.
The survey, which is the biggest of its type across the island, collects the views of 750 business owners and managers.
The survey results reveal a clear sense of unease, with growing anxiety appearing to be directly impacting sentiment.
Both business and consumer confidence are cooling. The number of businesses citing this as a concern has risen to 21% which is an increase of 16 percentage points compared to this time last year.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, InterTradeIreland's Director of Strategy Martin Robinson acknowledged that tariffs are in part influencing sentiment.
"One third of businesses cited global politics and trade uncertainty as an issue for them and that's something that we haven't seen up until now. Having said that, underlying issues, over half of businesses are stable, a third of them are in growth, and six out of ten are still profitable"," he said.
"But confidence is certainly taking a knock at the moment and I think that's being caused in part by the tariff issue," he added.
14% of businesses said they felt directly exposed to the US tariffs, and half of those said it was because they were either exporting to the states or sourcing from the US.
They said this in turn could lead to increase in costs or raw materials, supply chain disruptions, wider issues in the economy and the threat of recession.
The survey also asked SMEs about their approach to sustainability and achieving net zero emissions.
While over half of respondents recognised its importance to their business, only 17% currently have a plan in place, with a further 12% developing one.
"We're getting a mixed message there. While 55% of businesses are telling us that they believe sustainability is important, when it comes to actually following through and acting upon it seven out of ten still don't have a plan," said Mr Robinson.
"Of those, 86% are saying they don't intend to have a plan anytime soon and that's gives us some cause for concern. So high sentiment, big awareness, but slow in action and follow through," he stated.

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Irish Independent

15 hours ago

• Irish Independent

Revealed: Cork shop where €250m Euromillions ticket was sold as locals react to ‘unbelievable' win

The Rebel County retail store made history this week after it sold Tuesday's whopping €250 million EuroMillions jackpot ticket'It's definitely going to be the hottest day of the year on Shandon Street', says shop owner Ted Clifford Ireland's newest multimillionaire has made contact with the Prize Claims teamThis person is the 18th winner in Ireland of the EuroMillions jackpot since it started in 2004 Martin Mongan, Denise Calnan and Maeve McTaggart Today at 03:52 The record-breaking €250m winning Euromillions ticket was sold at Clifford's Centra on Shandon Street in Cork city, it has been confirmed. The shop, at 91 Shandon Street, is located on the northside of the city. Shop owner Ted Clifford said it was a "very exciting" day for his store, which has been in operation for 95 years on Shandon Street. Although there has been no sight of the winner yet – the National Lottery also confirmed yesterday the Ireland's newest multi-millionaire has made contact with the Prize Claims team. Residents of Shandon Street are pondering whether the ticket was bought by a neighbour, someone from a different part of the Rebel city or a blow-in who felt lucky. Local man Paul is not resting on his laurels and purchased a ticket for tomorrow's Lotto in the luckiest store in Ireland. 'This is for tomorrow night, hopefully. It will be a big smaller but hopefully in the winner,' he laughed. Paul hopes someone from the locality won the eye-watering prize. 'It's brilliant and hopefully it was somebody local won it. Spread the love a bit, you know,' he added. Anne O'Sullivan is a till operator at Clifford's Centra, a role she has had for over 26 years and she said lottery products are very popular among customers. 'We open at six in the morning for the last seven months and it started to pick up a few months ago. There is a lot of people coming from work and going to work doing the lottery. ADVERTISEMENT 'It could be a syndicate, but we do sell a lot of lottery, scratch cards and the lotto,' she said. Ms O'Sullivan said the buzz inside is 'fabulous'. Sean O'Keeffe, also from Shandon said the win is 'unbelievable.' 'Look, it's unbelievable for the area and I hope someone local won it. And it was bought from no better shop,' he said. The shop sold a €100,000 winning ticket on New Year's Eve to a local customer, a moment that shop owner Ted Cllfford said must have "started our winning streak". "It's huge, it's definitely going to be the hottest day of the year on Shandon St," he said. Speaking to RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Mr Clifford, who is the third generation to run the shop, said it was "fantastic news" to receive yesterday and that they were "proud to be part of the community". Mr Clifford said he had "no idea" who had won the big prize because so many customers ought tickets in the run-up to a draw, but he sent his "warmest congratulations" to the winner and their family. His shop gets €25,000 in prize money due to selling the winning ticket, with Mr Clifford planning a "big celebration" with his staff. We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review your details and accept them to load the content The contact came after days of speculation as to who is the winner of the life-changing amount. This person is the 18th winner in Ireland of the EuroMillions jackpot since it started in 2004. Cian Murphy, CEO of the National Lottery, said today is a celebration for both the National Lottery and Cork. 'Today is a day of celebration for both the National Lottery and for the community here in Cork based around Clifford's Centra here on Shandon Street. 'As you can see, it's a carnival atmosphere here, and people are absolutely delighted, it is a fantastic day for us,' Mr Murphy said. The €250m winner became the 13th millionaire in Ireland this year through the National Lottery, and Mr Murphy said the winner will go through the same process. 'This is a much larger amount of money, but it is exactly the same process,' he said. The advice for the lucky winner is to sign the back of the lottery ticket, keep it safe and bring it to the National Lottery HQ. They also advise people to get independent financial advice. 'This is a life changing amount of money and it's very important that people get very good independent financial advice,' he concluded. Speaking yesterday after the winner made contact, National Lottery spokesperson Emma Monaghan said; "We are absolutely thrilled to have heard from our EuroMillions winner. At this point, our priority is to give them the necessary time and space to make arrangements and let this life-changing news sink in.' The record-breaking win surpasses the €175m record for the largest cheque ever presented to an Irish player, in February 2019. The winning numbers this week were: 13, 22, 23, 44 ,49 and the Lucky Stars were 3 and 5. The National Lottery has urged the winner 'to stay calm, get independent legal and financial advice and contact us as soon as they can'. Dolores McNamara from Limerick was Ireland's first EuroMillions winner, scooping more than €115m in July 2005. The jackpot is capped once it reaches €250m. In total, more than 92,200 players in Ireland won prizes in the EuroMillions and Plus games on Tuesday night.

The Journal

15 hours ago

• The Journal

Centra in Cork city sold winning €250m ticket, National Lottery confirms

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RTÉ News​

17 hours ago

• RTÉ News​

'Lucky streak' - Cork city shop celebrates EuroMillions jackpot sale

The owner of the shop that sold the winning EuroMillions ticket in Cork is celebrating a "lucky streak", having previously sold a €100,000 ticket on New Year's Eve. The winning €250 million ticket was sold at Clifford's Centra on Shandon Street in Cork city. It marks the biggest ever jackpot win in Ireland and the 18th Irish winner of the EuroMillions jackpot. Shop owner Ted Clifford said the National Lottery phoned him yesterday to tell him the news, which he described as "fantastic". The shop will receive €25,000 in prize money, which he said will go towards "a big celebration". It is "definitely going to be the hottest day of the year on Shandon Street", he said. Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Mr Clifford said the shop is having a "lucky streak". "This all kicked off on New Year's Eve when we sold a €100,000 ticket to a local person and I think this is when our luck started," he said. Mr Clifford, who is a third generation owner of the store, said he does not know who bought the winning ticket but he sends them his "warmest congratulations". The holder of the winning ticket in Tuesday night's €250m EuroMillions lottery has already made contact with the National Lottery's prize claims team, the company confirmed. The winning numbers are 13, 22, 23, 44, 49 - Lucky Stars 3 and 5.