Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
028 9056 8006 Plea for Europe to back border
Residents in call for frontier deal
BORDER residents yesterday urged European leaders not to desert them – begging for a deal over the UK’S departure from the EU to be struck.
Just nine months before Brexit, the future for those living on the Irish frontier remains unclear.
Thousands of people live along the border, which stretches more than 300 miles from Lough Foyle in the north-west to Carlingford Lough to the east.
An estimated 20,000 people cross it every day, and it is criss-crossed by more than 200 roads which have had no checkpoints since 2005.
EU leaders will meet in Brussels today and tomorrow but the ongoing migrant crisis is set to dominate the agenda, with Brexit likely to be a footnote.
The border has proved to be a sticking point in Brexit negotiations.
The Government has vowed there will not be a hard border but has not so far revealed how this will be implemented. On Monday, Secretary Of
@dailymirrorni State Karen Bradley said the Government’s plan for the border will be proposed next month.
Darren Cunningham, owner of Killowen Shellfish on the shores of Carlingford Lough in Co Down, said he believes Brexit is going to completely change life in Northern Ireland, and is disappointed that the political negotiations do not seem to be any further forward.
The oyster fisherman, who lives in Annalong, just 10 miles from the border, said: “I thought after a year we would have had some sort of clarity over the future post-brexit but we have absolutely no clarity.
“There seems to be mixed messages coming across – one minute one thing is agreed, then next thing something else is. It is just a mess, a total train wreck.”
Mr Cunningham, who exports all his lobsters to mainland Europe, said: “A hard border and delays won’t be good for us, we are exporting a live high-end product. If there are delays, they will start to die.”
Sinead Mclaughlin, chief executive of the Londonderry Chamber of Commerce, said: “From our perspective, we have been very concerned at how the negotiations are progressing.
“It is very difficult to be confident about a process which is not moving forward.
“It is extremely uncomfortable.”