The AIB study also found that even although two weeks have passed since the time Brexit was supposed to have concluded, one-third of the Irish firms surveyed had not planned for the impact of Brexit on their businesses.

“The deterioration in the Brexit sentiment index was evident across a range of sectors in the survey particularly retail, tourism, manufacturing and food and drink,” said AIB Chief Economist Oliver Mangan in the report.

“The survey also reveals deepening concerns amongst an increasing number of SMEs about the future impact of Brexit, with 76% saying that it will have a negative impact on their business in the future and 81% expecting the effect on the wider economy to be negative,” Mangan added.

When the Brexit Sentiment research was conducted last month, analysts observed a sharp decline in Irish business sentiment in return on investment to -52 from -41 reflecting heightened uncertainty over the period.

Business sentiment dropped to its lowest levels across a number of sectors. Transport, manufacturing, retail, and tourism, all key economic sectors, registered a significant drop in sentiment.

“While it now appears likely that the UK will receive a further extension to the withdrawal process from EU, Irish businesses should not be complacent. The threat of a Hard Brexit looks to be reduced at this time but a final outcome remains unclear and a Hard Brexit remains possible. We encourage all businesses to ensure they have considered and prepared for all possible outcomes,” said Catherine Moroney, head of business banking at AIB in the report.

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