BUSINESS SURVEY:A YES vote in the Lisbon Treaty referendum will help businesses maintain existing employment and attract new jobs to Ireland, 90 per cent of chief executives surveyed for a campaigning group have said.
The survey was commissioned by civil society group We Belong, which is advocating a Yes vote in the referendum, and was carried out by market research agency Behaviour Attitudes.
A total of 31 chief executive officers (CEOs) were interviewed by telephone between September 7th and 15th. They were asked to what extent they agreed with the statement: “A Yes vote in next month’s Lisbon Treaty referendum will strengthen the hand of Irish managers in maintaining existing jobs and attracting new jobs to Ireland.” A total of 74 per cent (23 CEOs) said they agreed strongly, and 16 per cent (five CEOs) said they agreed somewhat.
We Belong director Olivia Buckley said it was clear the outcome of the treaty vote would be central to the State’s future job-creation strategy. “The people on the front line making the case for Ireland on the global stage have given an overwhelming signal that a Yes vote will strengthen Ireland’s hand when it comes to jobs and foreign investment,” Ms Buckley said.
Meanwhile, nine in 10 employers believe a Yes vote in the referendum is important in supporting foreign direct investment, according to a survey released by the employers’ organisation Ibec.
Brendan Butler, Ibec’s director of EU and international affairs, said the survey of over 500 employers was carried out in recent weeks and involved companies of every size. A total of 66 per cent of CEOs regarded a Yes vote as very important, and 24 per cent said it was important. He said there were 470 companies from the US operating in Ireland, providing over 95,000 well-paid jobs.
However, the Socialist MEP for Dublin Joe Higgins told RTÉ 1 last night that Yes campaigners were using scare tactics. “They are trying to terrify the Irish people that a No vote would mean a worse economic collapse and then they’re trying to give the positive corollary of that that somehow it will mean an amazing transformation of the economy.”
