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Irish Times
17 hours ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Economic concerns growing across the island, warns InterTrade Ireland
Concerns about the state of the economy in the coming months have risen sharply since the beginning of the year among businesses on the island of Ireland, but especially in retail and construction, according to a new survey. The InterTrade Ireland poll found that 32 per cent of retail businesses admit to growing anxiety during the first three months of the year, compared with just 15 per cent in the last quarter of 2024. Nerves have worsened, too, in construction, with 24 per cent now concerned, compared with 13 per cent in Q4 of 2024, while 23 per cent of manufacturing firms have concerns, up from 9 per cent, 'likely reflecting cost pressures and market volatility'. One in eight construction firms are seeing orders contract, up by nearly two-thirds in just months, while fewer are seeing their sales grow. Concern is also growing about late payments. READ MORE By comparison, however, hospitality, hotel, leisure and catering businesses across the island are less worried, having risen from 10 per cent to 14 per cent, but it 'still points to growing unease', InterTrade reports. [ US tariffs could punch €18bn hole in public finances, Central Bank warns Opens in new window ] Though hospitality 'is rebounding', with both growth and staffing numbers up, sentiment about the future is 'softening', said InterTrade Ireland, the all-island enterprise support agency. Of all sectors, professional services – accounting, consulting and so on – are the calmest, with just a single percentage point of increase in their concern about the business climate in coming months. Describing the headline figures across all questions as 'broadly positive', Newry-based InterTrade Ireland said 'a closer look reveals a more complex and uneven economic landscape'. 'Ireland continues to post strong headline growth, largely driven by exports, but domestic demand is softening amid rising global uncertainty,' it said, adding that Northern Ireland 'remains relatively resilient', outperforming the United Kingdom average. Businesses on both parts of the island are facing 'historically tight' labour markets, but 'early signs of softening' are appearing. Unemployment in the Republic is steady at 4 per cent, but in Northern Ireland it is 'just 1.8 per cent, one of the lowest on record'. However, subtle shifts are appearing in both parts of the island, with an increasing number of people not being economically activity – an issue that Northern Ireland has struggled with for decades. Unprompted, just under 40 per cent complained that too many new workers have 'a different attitude to work', while a similar number complain that students are not leaving colleges with the skills they need.
RTÉ News
12-06-2025
- Business
- RTÉ News
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.
Irish Examiner
12-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Examiner
Trade uncertainty denting confidence in Irish businesses, warns report
One in every three Irish businesses now see global political and trade uncertainties as a key concern, with geopolitical tensions beginning to erode business confidence, the latest All-Island Business Monitor has warned. InterTradeIreland's latest All-island Business Monitor shows that business sentiment across the island remains resilient in 2025, with most firms holding steady and staying profitable. Yet, beneath this stability, trade uncertainties rank among the top three concerns for businesses, with 32% of SMEs viewing it as a key issue. InterTradeIreland director of strategy Martin Robinson said the fast-evolving nature of the tariff situation is fuelling the uncertainty. 'The lack of clarity is making it increasingly difficult for business leaders to plan with confidence,' Mr Robinson said. The survey noted the number of businesses citing business and consumer confidence itself as a concern has risen to 21%, an increase of 16 percentage points compared to 2024. The All-island Business Monitor collects the views of 750 business owners and managers. It was conducted between April 7 and May 9, immediately after the announcement of new US trade tariffs. The number one concern for businesses remains rising costs of other overheads (56%), which includes staffing costs and insurance while energy bills remain a concern for half (51%) of businesses. Skills shortages remain persistent and competitive pressures are also rising with more firms flagging issues such as weakening demand and late payments. According to the All-island Business Monitor, 14% of businesses surveyed are directly exposed to the impacts of US trade tariffs and potential retaliatory measures. Those who reported they were most concerned about the impact of tariffs were in the manufacturing sector, with worries about increased raw material costs and supply chain disruption. This comes as the 2025 All-Island Industry 4.0 Future Skills report launched on Thursday in Dundalk reveals that the advanced manufacturing sector is facing a growing skills challenge that threatens to impact innovation, competitiveness and economic growth unless coordinated action is taken. On Thursday, Taoiseach Micheál Martin is joining business leaders and stakeholders from across the island in Dundalk for the annual Ibec and Confederation of British Industry (CBI) All-Island Economy Conference. 'The rise in global uncertainty stemming from US trade and tariff policies and growing geopolitical disruption means the all-island economy must focus on building resilience and deepening collaboration,' said Ibec chief executive Danny McCoy.
Irish Times
11-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Cross-Border workers refused mortgages
Cross-Border workers are being refused mortgages by banks and facing healthcare and welfare issues because of problems caused by different tax rules in the Republic and Northern Ireland . The problem is even affecting employees of North/South bodies set up under the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, an all-island conference on workers' mobility held in Dundalk Institute of Technology was told. Currently, just one of the 65 staff employed by the all-island trade promotion agency, InterTradeIreland at its headquarters in Newry, Co Down is from the Republic, one of its executives, Colin McCabrey told the conference. 'We did actually have a lot more. They all reached the age of maturity where they were getting married and they found they couldn't get a mortgage if they were from [the Republic] working in Northern Ireland, so they left,' he declared. READ MORE Despite the difficulties, 18,000 people from the Republic and Northern Ireland are known to be employed by companies on the other side of the Border from where they live. In reality, a far greater number is doing so. 'A lot of them are just ignoring or burying their heads in the sand, or employees are using the well-renowned tactic of 'grannying', where they use the address of a relation for tax purposes,' said Ulster University's Aidan O'Kane. Businesses are increasingly reluctant to knowingly to hire workers from the other jurisdiction because of the onerous nature of employment rules, says Rose Tierney, the noted Monaghan-based cross-Border tax accountant. In some cases, cross-Border workers newly employed by businesses with company healthcare plans are finding that health insurers are unwilling to offer them the same benefits as those offered previously. 'We're seeing things as stark as some Northern businesses advertising for roles and saying 'UK residents only', which goes contrary to our ambition to be an aligned economy,' says Mr O'Kane. 'On the other side of that coin, we're seeing businesses in the Republic of Ireland taking a very clear bias in employing those who live in that jurisdiction because it was just getting a little bit too unwieldy,' he went on. Nearly a third of the 800 staff in US insurer, Allstate 's Derry operation once travelled daily from Co Donegal, but that number is now down to little more than 5 per cent in the wake of Brexit and the Covid pandemic. During the height of the pandemic, the company told the Irish and British tax authorities that it would have to pay its Donegal-resident staff to stay at home and do nothing unless it got a waiver to let them work remotely within the rules. A waiver was subsequently issued generally covering all cross-Border workers but it lapsed after the pandemic ended, though it is believed that many staff employed by small firms have continued to work under the radar, leaving them at risk. Seeking to regularise their position, it is known that a few declared to the tax authorities that they had worked, or were working undeclared cross-Border, but paying taxes. They ended up facing a tax audit and, on occasion, a tax arrears bill in some cases. Nevertheless, healthcare and community workers from Northern Ireland are known to have taken up better-paid jobs in the Republic, especially in the last year, or two, though often it is believed that they supply addresses in the Republic to their employer. A big cross-Border campaign did run for a number of years to lobby the Irish Government, Stormont and the Exchequer in Dublin to agree a deal that would encourage all-island working, but it failed. Under a European Union deal agreed last year, EU workers working for companies outside the state where they live can maintain some welfare benefits even if they spend half of their time working remotely. However, the UK is not party to the agreement.
RTÉ News
04-06-2025
- Business
- RTÉ News
All-island cybersecurity sector worth €3.2 billion
A new report has found that the all-island cybersecurity sector generated an estimated €3.2 billion and contributed €1.5 billion in gross value added (GVA) in the most recent financial year. The research was commissioned by Cyber Ireland and NI Cyber, with support from InterTradeIreland's Synergy Programme, and produced by Perspective Economics. It found that the all-island cybersecurity sector is among the largest in Western Europe, comprising 632 firms and employing 10,600 people. According to the report, Irish firms alone have seen revenue growth of 13.4% annually over the past two years. The study also highlights that the all-island cybersecurity sector benefits greatly from the presence of multinational companies, as well as indigenous enterprises, with 41% of firms headquartered in Ireland and 7% in Northern Ireland. However, the report found that barriers remain for the industry with policy gaps, procurement challenges and security clearance issues hindering cross-border collaboration. In a bid to deepen cross-border collaboration and unlock new opportunities, Cyber Ireland and NI Cyber have announced a memorandum of understanding (MoU). It outlines key shared goals to align with both clusters' strategic priorities, including enhancing cross-border connections, supporting industry-academic research and development collaboration, and raising the international profile of the all-island sector. "Cybersecurity is not just a technological issue, it's a strategic economic opportunity," Cluster Manager at Cyber Ireland Eoin Byrne said. "This report demonstrates the strength of the all-island cybersecurity sector and the huge potential to improve our cyber resilience and drive economic growth by working together." "The signing of the MoU between Cyber Ireland and NI Cyber is a major step forward in that journey," Mr Byrne added. Cluster Manager at NI Cyber Joanne English said that cybersecurity threats do not stop at borders. "Through enhanced collaboration, we can boost innovation and better support our companies and communities. "This report and its findings highlight the opportunity for our respective clusters," she added. Director of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at InterTradeIreland Alison Currie described cybersecurity as a critical and vital consideration for all businesses. "This report, funded by our Synergy programme, will benefit all businesses across the island of Ireland as they strive to collectively improve their cybersecurity preparedness, support their digitalisation processes and reduce their risk of cyber-attacks," Ms Currie said.
