AT RISK OF BREXIT

TAX CUTS Brexit could postpone — or put an end to — Government plans to continue to cut taxes and increase public spending. “If there’s a severe or hard Brexit, the Government may not be in a position to cut taxes or increase expenditure as much as it wanted to,” said the economist Alan Ahearne. “After the collapse of the property market in 2008, the Government took a lot of money out of people’s pockets through tax increases. The Government’s budget is not as exposed to Brexit as it was Irish construction. So while it’s unlikely we’d see increases in taxation, there may be some fiscal tightening with Brexit.”

CHEAPER GROCERIES Although Irish grocery prices have fallen slightly since the Brexit vote, the weekly shop could get more expensive once Brexit goes through — depending on the trade deal negotiated by Britain with the EU. “If there’s no trade deal done, you would tend to see higher tariffs on food products and clothing coming into Ireland from the UK,” said Ahearne. “Customs charges would also be passed on. We’ll likely see increases in the prices of food and clothes coming in from the UK as a result of such tariffs and charges.” The huge competition between the Irish supermarkets could help to limit the extent to which prices might increase however. “A lot of the products we get from the UK come in through supermarket chains — so there may be pressure on supermarkets to absorb some of the costs,” said Ahearne. “Supermarkets are also big enough to move suppliers — so they mind find alternative suppliers to the UK within the EU.”

CONSUMER RIGHTS Irish people are entitled to a raft of consumer rights when travelling within the EU. These include the right not to be charged anymore to withdraw money from an ATM machine — or to use your mobile phone — when travelling in the EU as you would at home, the right to compensation if your flight is cancelled or delayed, and the right to free or cheaper public healthcare under the European Health Insurance Card. There are concerns that consumers across Europe could see such rights diminished. This all depends on the details of the trade negotiations. Should the EU’s consumer protection rules not be carried over under Brexit, Irish people could face higher charges to use their mobile phone, and debit and credit cards, when travelling in Britain. Irish holidaymakers could also find themselves out of pocket if they are travelling in Britain and their flight is delayed or cancelled — or if they become ill or injured.“If, after Brexit, an Irish consumer returns from Britain with a non-EU airline and the flight is delayed or cancelled, he might not have rights to financial compensation anymore,” said Johannes Kleis, a spokesman for the European consumer’s organisation, BEUC. “At this stage, it is impossible to say if this will occur. The EU and Britain might conclude an agreement to maintain the rights which are enshrined in the existing air passenger rights regulation. There will be no changes until the UK has left the EU on March 30, 2019. But without an agreement before the end of the negotiations, existing EU consumer protections and rights might cease to exist in the UK.”