CORPORATE leaders across Ireland and Britain are united in a belief that Brexit will adversely impact their businesses, according to a new report.
The study by the Institute of Directors (IoD) from 92 per cent of directors in the Republic disagreed with the UK's decision to exit the EU.
And 70 per cent of them believe the effects of Brexit will be negative on Ireland.
The report is just the latest from a leading business group to cast doubt on the wisdom of the UK leaving the EU.
Other findings included that Irish firms relied more on British business than the other way round.
Three-quarter of IoD Ireland respondents had business links with the UK while just 29 per cent of UK respondents had business links with the Republic.
Just under half (49 per cent) of IoD UK respondents said the effect of Brexit on investment in Northern Ireland would be “very” or “somewhat negative”.
The IoD in Ireland chief executive Maura Quinn said: "Unsurprisingly, Brexit is of huge concern to business leaders in Ireland and the UK.
“There is a lot of uncertainty, firstly around its timing and secondly around its effects. The response from our members and those of our counterparts in the UK show quite definitively that business leaders on both sides of the Irish Sea are uncertain as to what will happen next.”
Looking ahead, a significant number of respondents - 29 per cent from IoD Ireland and 19 per cent from IoD UK - have downgraded their revenue growth forecasts for 2017.
And in terms of the economic impact of Brexit, 62 per cent of IoD UK respondents said there will be a significant or a slight drop in growth for the UK’s economy in 2017 while 58 per cent of IoD Ireland’s respondents said there will be a significant or slight drop in the Republic's economy next year.
