90% of Business Leaders Support a Yes Vote- Lawlor

Fine Gael TD, Anthony Lawlor, has said that a new survey which shows 90% of business leaders support a Yes vote in the Stability Treaty Referendum highlights the importance of a positive result in the Treaty for economic growth. The survey, carried out by IBEC, is based on the replies of over 400 CEOs.

“This IBEC survey has made some very interesting findings, and I think it underlines the importance of a Yes vote for businesses in Kildare and right across the country. Not only do 90% of CEOs believe a Yes vote is important to the future prosperity of their business, 83% believe it will have a positive impact on Ireland’s ability to attract Foreign Direct Investment.

“Furthermore, the survey gives an interesting perspective on the impact of a rejection of the Treaty. If we oppose the Treaty, 87% of business leaders believe it will limit our ability to do business in Europe. At the moment, 60% of our exports go to the EU. As the only English-speaking country in the Eurozone, we are in a great position to further capitalise on this market. Why would we want to put this at risk?

“A Yes vote will help to deliver the certainty and stability needed for job creation. We’ve seen thousands of jobs created by companies like Apple, Mylan, Cisco, HP and Paypal in recent months. Clearly Irish business leaders believe our ability to continue to attract this kind of investment would be severely hampered by a rejection of the Treaty.

“According to IBEC, Irish companies are making a direct link between passing the Treaty and the future success of their own businesses. These are job creators operating in the real economy, and I think their views should not be ignored.

“While unemployment rates remain far too high, there’s been some small progress on job creation in the last year. For example, by the end of 2011, there were 11,000 more people working in accommodation and food services than when the Government came to office. There was also a 6,000 net increase in jobs in IDA-supported companies last year and there was a 30% increase in companies investing in Ireland for the first time.

“We need to give ourselves the best possible chance of continuing with this progress. The Stability Treaty won’t solve everything, but it will be a key step as we rebuild a working Ireland.”