Chambers Ireland launches latest Covid-19 Business Community Survey

This morning, Chambers Ireland launches our second Covid-19 Business Community Survey.

This survey is targeted at business owners and operators, both those who are members of their local chambers of commerce and those that are not.

With it we seek to chart out the effects of the Covid-19 restrictions on the Irish Business community, and through creating an evidence base assist policy makers and business owners guide our economy through the Covid-19 challenges.

Our last survey, which was published on the 24th of March, having reached 1110 business owners, found that 94% of businesses were expecting their revenues to decline, with 73% of businesses expecting a 3-month decline in revenues that would exceed 73%.

Fears about cashflow and liquidity were the greatest concerns of micro-enterprises (<10 employees) with closures and staffing being a concern for larger businesses across many sectors.

This will be the first national survey carried out since the emergency legislation was enacted which provided for the introduction of the wage subsidy, and since the latest Covid-19 restrictions were imposed.

The Chambers Ireland Business Community Survey focuses on how businesses have reacted to Covid-19, their interactions with their creditors, and the staffing changes which have been made.

If your business [and we know that media outlets have been particularly affected by this economic shock] has been affected by Covid-19 please let us know your experiences here: Chambers Ireland Business Community Survey

Speaking this morning Chambers Ireland’s Chief Executive, Ian Talbot, said,

“It is critical that we learn the details of how this crisis is affecting the Irish business community. With legislation, and policy, reacting to the crisis with ever greater pace and urgency it is vital that there is evidence to base these policy innovations on.

It we do not know precisely which businesses are most affected by the Covid-19 related closures and restrictions, if we don’t know which sectors, and the scale of businesses which are most damaged by our current circumstances, then we risk focusing the recovery efforts on the wrong areas, or leaving unattended sectors which require particular attention before it is too late.

An accurate picture of how this crisis is affecting the business community is the first step in creating a national recovery plan – please make sure you speak for your business.”

 

-ENDS-