MEP’s speak on Brexit
Council contracts awarded to Northern Ireland or UK based companies should continue to be honoured post Brexit, members heard at the monthly meeting of Louth County Council.
Louth MEP Mairead McGuinness was joined by MEP Matt Carthy in a presentation to the council on the current state of play in Brexit negotiations.
Cllr. Maria Doyle queried the impact on contracts that have been awarded which are set to run after Britain leaves the EU on March 29th.
Mairead McGuinness said that it was likely existing contracts would be honoured, even after Brexit kicks in.
However, she admitted that it was unclear what impact a ‘no deal’ Brexit might have.
Matt Carthy agreed that it was expected contracts already awarded would continue.
‘But we do need to do a lot of work on public procurement anyway.’
The MEP had told the council that a ‘no deal’ was now ‘a live prospect.’
Cllr Ruairi O’Murchu asked if special status in some form is not granted for the north ‘are we then facing into an armageddon scenario?’
He also queried how Interreg and PEACE funding might be affected by Brexit.
Matt Carthy explained that one of the first acts of the EU after the Brexit referendum was to vote in favour of the continuation of Peace funding.
But he warned these initiatives would ‘clearly be impact by a no deal scenario.’
Mairead McGuinness added that if Britain leaves the EU without any agreed deal, then the funds that are paid in by the UK to the Interreg stream could be affected.
‘ The reality is, if there is a no deal then everything collapses.’
Cllr. Emma Coffey said preparations for a no deal Brexit were vital. She said that she had warned last year that a hard border was areal possibility.
‘ The language we heard then from the key players led me to believe a hard border was coming down the tracks.’
‘We are on the cusp of a cliff edge, and Louth is going to be on the cold, hard face of it.’
CEO Joan Martin added: ‘I would say there had been a strong response from Ireland from the start. But I wouldn’t say that there has similar work been done in Northern Ireland.’
She added that the Local Enterprise Office (LEO) are working independent of the council on Brexit preparedness, particularly with the business community.
‘I do feel a lot of work has been done, but we have no idea what we are planning for. We had hoped for more clarity, but if anything the situation is less clear now.’