THE vast majority of Irish businesses favour Ireland joining monetary union, although only one third believe it will start on time in 1999.
The number in favour falls dramatically if Britain stays out, according to the Irish Business and Employers Confederation (IBEC).
The survey also found that the vast majority of Irish companies are unprepared for entry into the single currency.
According to IBEC the situation is "far from ideal" and it called for "compensating improvements" in the business environment to ensure competitiveness.
Surprisingly, only 4 per cent of companies had worked out a strategy to deal with the changeover and the same number had made an assessment of the financial impact the change will have on their business.
As a result, IBEC will be embarking on a campaign to improve awareness in the new year. "The danger is that when companies actually come to look for outside help it may not be available," the organisation's chief economist, Mr David Croughan, warned.
IBEC questioned 624 companies, employing 184,227 people, in June to September this year. Overall 91 per cent of companies said Ireland should join, compared to 7 per cent of companies who believed Ireland should not join.
The financial and wholesale sector was a little more negative, with 9 per cent against joining, while larger companies were a little more positive with over 96 per cent in favour compared with just 90 per cent of smaller companies.
However, fewer businesses believe that monetary union will have a positive effect on their business. Only 57 per cent believed it would be positive, with 7 per cent believing it will be negative. The financial sector was the most negative, with only 44 per cent believing it will be positive, while the manufacturing sector was the most positive with 59 per cent expecting a positive impact.
When it came to Ireland joining without Britain, 61 per cent of firms believed we should go ahead, while only 11 per cent believed we should stay out. Unsurprisingly, multinationals were far more positive with 66 per cent favouring joining without the UK.
