Ms Marie Armstrong:

A total of 30% of our members had done absolutely nothing about Brexit as of February. They have made no preparations or thought about what they need to do. That is rapidly changing and things are being done, for example, the Revenue Commissioners are considering technology that might speed things up. Regulation, red tape, customs, paperwork etc. will slow down costs and trade. There are things we can do. We are just not doing enough of it. Half of our members are more concerned about the potential break-up of the EU or the potential for the EU to run a twin-track approach with the four large countries separating out and the rest of the small countries being left behind. They are concerned too about changes in the US tax system. I have seen companies stop making big decisions about whether to invest in Ireland. The US FDI is not going to leave Ireland any time soon but some of those investment decisions may move outside Ireland. That is why we need to look beyond the US for FDI and towards the east.