Three in in four Irish people believe Brexit will result in the Irish economy suffering, new research from the Core marketing communications company shows. The Brexit Barometer research was conducted to measure how Irish people feel towards Brexit and how it might impact their lives. The biggest concern Irish people have is for peace and security.
The study shows that 69 per cent of people are anxious about travelling between the UK and Ireland as well as security along the border, while 67 per cent express concern that relationships between the two nations may impact on the peace process. The survey also shows that 58 per cent are worried that prices could rise if supply issues become a problem.
Many believe that Irish consumers will be worse off due to Brexit – either by price, experience or choice. People believe they will be worse off when it comes to a range of purchasing behaviours, particularly flights, food and fuel. The study indicates that 68 per cent are concerned over how Brexit will affect flights to the UK and 58 per cent about buying groceries.
Finian Murphy (right), marketing director, Core, said that 54 per cent of those interviewed are concerned about buying petrol and diesel post Brexit, 51 per cent have worries about about buying clothes and cars, 49 per cent are concerned about buying personal electronics, 48 per cent are worried about healthcare, while 44% about buying home energy.
That said, Murphy added, while Brexit has been a constant news item for the past three years and has even overtaken creating jobs as a priority, it is not the number one issue for Irish people in 2019. Despite Brexit uncertainty, the main priority has switched to providing affordable housing, with 31 per cent saying it should be Ireland’s primary concern.
Brexit Barometer is based on analysis of three pieces of data – the KBC Consumer Sentiment Index, the Core Cultural Index and Core’s State of the Nation. Each monthly survey is based on a sample size of 1,000 Irish adults, representative of the population. The Brexit questions were collected between August 15 and August 25.
A survey of Enterprise Ireland clients attending this week’s International Markets Week (IMW) in the RDS finds that 53 per cent of companies say that Brexit has impacted their business with one in 10 firms saying Brexit has cost their business over €100,000. Almost five per cent of companies claim that Brexit has cost their business over €250,000 to date.
IMW hosts 650 client companies over three days. Over 140 market advisors from Enterprise Ireland’s 34 overseas offices will take part in 2,000 client company one-to-one meetings, advising Irish businesses on export opportunities in direct response to Brexit.
