Optimism has risen sharply among representative bodies for local charities, according to a quarterly survey published by Navca yesterday.

Local infrasutructure body Navca conducts quarterly surveys among its members, mostly councils for voluntary service. The latest survey was conducted in July 2015.

Navca has around 230 institutional members and the panel is intended to be a representative sample of all members. The most recent survey had 18 responses.

The survey found that 61 per cent of respondents were optimistic about the future in the short term, up from 35 per cent the previous year. This is the highest level of optimism among members since the survey began in 2012.

Despite the optimism, 71 per cent of respondents said their finances were expected to get worse in the next year. However 24 per cent said they expected finances to improve – also the highest amount since the survey began.

Looking back, 22 per cent said finances had improved, while 28 per cent said they had got worse.

“The survey found the highest level of optimism from Navca members about their short-term prospects since the survey series started, with 61 per cent optimistic about the next three months,” a spokesman for the organisation said.

“However, this short term optimism is not matched in the long term. Looking at the next 12 months, 71 per cent of respondents said they felt their funding would get worse and 76 per cent said funding for their local voluntary and community groups would get worse.”