¤ 3bn cross- border trade under threat

CROSS- BORDER trade, EU funding and the free movement of people across the Border Region are exposed to the biggest risks by Brexit.

Sligo County Council members were given a report on the risks and opportunities posed by Brexit at this month’s meeting.

The findings come from research carried out on behalf of 13 Local Authority bodies ( including Sligo County Council) by the Ulster University Economic Policy Centre.

Key findings were that Council areas on both sides of the border, when taken as a block, lag behind the economic performance of the Republic and Northern Ireland generally.

Some of the reasons given included “limited urbanisation” and “the impacts of peripherality.”

The border region also has higher proportions of small and micro businesses.

The report found that a ¤ 3 billion cross- border trade and the British market were “crucial trade option” for the border corridor, with more businesses engaged in this trade than in exports to the rest of the EU.

This cross- border trade ( of agri- food, building materials, chemicals and fisheries sectors) are exposed to risks of “significant tariffs and non- tariff barriers, eg an end to common standards.

Researchers said agri- food was of particular importance, both in job creation terms and as a source of almost half of all cross- border trade - ¤ 1.4 billion in 2014.

EU funding is another risk, ending for Northern Ireland after Brexit, is another high risk area, as is Foreign Direct Investment ( FDI).

Movement of people is another risk: In 2015 almost a million cross- border journeys were made every week. Migrants were critical to businesses and public services in sectors such as sea fishing, accommodation and healthcare where they make up more than a quarter of all staff.