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‘Overwhelming’ regulation worries business leaders

Business and legal leaders see regulatory changes as the biggest challenge to their company this year, according to a survey carried out by law firm Mason Hayes & Curran (MHC).

Almost one-third of the 1,000 respondents identified regulation as the biggest issue, followed by staff recruitment and retention (19%) and a global economic downturn 916%).

Despite the challenges, almost half (48%) of those surveyed expected the Irish economy to grow this year – up from 32% in last year’s survey.

More expect M&A activity

There was also a slight increase in the percentage of leaders (20%) expecting M&A (merger and acquisition) activity or another form of restructuring at their firm this year.

Asked about the most important factor in improving Ireland’s competitiveness, 33% identified housing shortages, while 32% called for improved infrastructure.

Asked about the effect of a Trump presidency in the US on Ireland, 39% were worried about the impact of US corporate-tax changes on investment, while 38% were concerned about ‘re-shoring’ pressure on US firms to return home.

‘Growing complexity’

Will Carmody (MHC managing partner) said that the growing complexity and pace of regulatory change presented “significant challenges” for businesses, adding that the impact of non-compliance was reputational, as well as legal.

The firm stated that there had been 48 acts and more than 700 statutory instruments during 2024 – mainly driven by the EU.

It described the volume of legislation as “overwhelming” for many businesses.

A breakdown of the figures on regulation showed that technology governance (36%) was seen as the area presenting the biggest risk to firms this year, followed by financial regulations (25%).