Mr. Aidan Gough:

In InterTradeIreland, we work closely with small businesses across the island. We like to be on the pulse of small business so that we can form our supports to meet the challenges and opportunities they are facing.

One of the ways we do that is through our business monitor, which is a quarterly survey of businesses across the island. In our survey we routinely ask our clients about the main challenges facing them as a small business. Since we started the survey, the exchange rate has never been a major issue for businesses. Businesses can work around it. Those in the Border area have a depth of experience and operate largely as a dual currency area. Volatility, however, can be a factor. We have noticed in our latest survey, the results of which have not yet been released, that only 6% of businesses say the exchange rate is a factor, which has trebled from the 2% who considered it a factor previously. We are keeping an eye on this. The issue seems to be volatility.