Brendan Smith warns border economies risk collapse without UK deal
Brendan Smith warned that border counties are heavily dependent on agri-food, construction and engineering sectors and that a no-deal outcome with Britain would threaten their viability. He urged targeted government assistance for exposed enterprises and called for comparable, co-ordinated COVID-19 restrictions north and south.
Economic dependence in border counties
He said the central border area is the least developed region and relies heavily on three sectors - agri-food, construction products and engineering - which generate employment, exports and earnings for counties on both sides of the border.
Tariff exposure and market reliance
He warned those sectors are heavily dependent on the Northern Ireland and British market and that any imposition of tariffs on products to Britain would create huge problems for the viability and competitiveness of enterprises in the region.
Cross-border interdependence
He described enterprises with operations split across the border, including sister companies and firms that carry out part manufacturing in one jurisdiction and assembly in another, noting integrated supply chains would face additional costs and complications without a deal.
Political outlook and appeal for a deal
He expressed concern at recent messages from Westminster about proceeding without a deal, said he believed the Taoiseach was somewhat optimistic a deal could be reached, and warned that the progress achieved since 2016 would be set back in incalculable terms if no agreement is reached.
Public health measures
He called for an all-Ireland approach to COVID-19, arguing restrictions need to be comparable and implemented similarly north and south because differing measures and uneven enforcement would undermine efforts to eliminate the virus on the island.
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I instanced only last week at the Committee on the Good Friday Agreement, the central border area, which has been the least developed area in our country, that's the counties of Cavan, Monaghan and north of the border, Toronto and Fermanagh. Our four counties, if we want to take that unit, are very heavily dependent on three particular sectors of the economy, the agri-food sector, construction, products and engineering sectors. They are very heavily dependent on those three sectors to generate employment and to develop an economy and make export earnings as well. Could I also say that those sectors are most heavily dependent on the Northern Ireland and British market as well. So if there is an imposition in tariffs on products from those sectors going to Britain to our primary market, it will create huge problems in regard to the viability of those enterprises and those enterprises remaining competitive. So we have the double-edged negative of sectors that are the primary economic driver in the least developed regions, being the sectors that are the most heavily dependent on the British market to export to and to make their living and to sell their product. So I have appealed on numerous times that hopefully we will have a deal, but in the event of there being no deal and these sectors being very exposed, that government assistance has to be targeted at those particular areas. There is a huge interdependence in the border economy north and south. I can instance it and Minister Burden would know my own county well, so he would, and County Monaghan as well. He will know the enterprises I am talking about. Some of them are sited on our side of the border and then on the Fermanagh side, their sister companies as well. Companies that are very interdependent, part manufacturing in one jurisdiction, part assembly in another jurisdiction. So there will be unbelievable complications and additional cost burdens if we do not have a deal in that respect. So that is why it is particularly important. It is very worrying the messages and the talk from Westminster over the past number of days and over the past number of weeks in regard to their wanting to forge ahead without a deal. I sincerely hope and I thought that the Taoiseach, as Deputy Sean High referred to, that he was somewhat optimistic that a deal would be reached. We sincerely hope that that can be achieved because it is absolutely necessary. And the huge progress that has been made would be knocked back in incalculable terms if we do not have an agreement. Because one of the phrases that I used at the first committee meeting that we had in 2016 after the British referendum, I said that that decision of the British people to decide to leave the European Union was it knocked the stuffing out of border communities. Because those of us who lived there through the bad days, we saw the complete change around where communities come together, regardless of whether we were sited on the northern side of the border or on the southern side, whether we were sited in Fermanagh or in Cavan or in Monaghan or Tyrone. So these are huge stakes for our communities. They're huge stakes for all of our island. Could I just refer to COVID and the teacher quite understandably said that the commentary by all the heads of state and heads of government at the council meeting were very sombre in regard to COVID. I have said at many occasions in this chamber that we need an all-Ireland approach to dealing with this pandemic. We need the restrictions to be as comparable both north and south. And similarly, that those restrictions and those measures are implemented in a similar way as well. Having restrictions and not implementing them on one side of the border won't help us to eliminate this virus from our island. Thank you, Alaskan Khorla.
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