More than three in five business leaders believe Budget 2025 will help them achieve their strategic priorities amid pressing business challenges, a new survey from the Irish Management Institute reveals.
The new research is based on a survey of 180 senior business leaders across private, public and semi-state organisations in Ireland attending the IMI’s National Leadership Conference.
A number of tax measures and supports for businesses were introduced by the Government last week including a €170m energy subsidy scheme for hospitality and retail businesses and an increase in the registration threshold for VAT.
61% of business leaders surveyed believe Budget 2025 will help them grow and achieve key objectives over the next 12 months, while 39% of decision-makers believe the Budget will have no significant impact on their capacity to manage change over the coming year.
The IMI survey reveals that as businesses continue to navigate a tight labour market, attracting and retaining talent was highlighted as the top leadership challenge for the next 12 months.
This was followed by keeping pace with innovation, with increased global competition ranking third.
It shows that 83% of business leaders believe that attracting high calibre talent will remain difficult over the coming months.
To address skills shortages, 66% of bosses are planning to enhance the capabilities of their workforce through an increased focus on upskilling and reskilling, while 22% say they would consider more flexible working to adapt to the challenge of talent shortages.
Shane O’Sullivan, CEO of the IMI, said that from geopolitical uncertainty to skills shortages across the economy, business leaders across Ireland are navigating a volatile and fast changing business landscape.
“The survey of business leaders at our National Leadership Conference provides a snapshot into the attitudes and actions of decision makers as they face these pressing business challenges,” he said.
“With Budget 2025 recently published, our findings reveal that most leaders believe the measures announced by the Government will support them to overcome obstacles and achieve key strategic objectives,” he said.
But he cautioned that the path ahead will not be straightforward.
“With a tight labour market set to continue over the coming months, it’s clear that leaders have significant concerns about their capacity to attract and retain high calibre talent. Enhancing the capabilities of their workforce though upskilling is one of the key ways that leaders are responding,” he stated.
Article Source – 61% of business leaders believe Budget 2025 will support growth – RTE
