Mr. Ken Nelson:

InterTradeIreland welcomes the opportunity to present to the Seanad Éireann special select committee on the issues arising for Irish firms trading cross-Border following the UK withdrawal from the EU Single Market and customs union. I am the chairman of InterTradeIreland and I am accompanied today by Ms Kerry Curran, assistant director of strategy and policy at InterTradeIreland. Ms Curran has been engaged at a policy level on Brexit matters since 2017 and during that time has managed the research undertaken by the organisation on the impacts of Brexit on cross-Border trade. There is no better person to have with me than Ms Curran.

InterTradeIreland is the cross-Border trade and business development body. Our main objective as an organisation is to increase cross-Border trade and economic co-operation for the benefit of firms in both jurisdictions. In an Irish context we help Irish firms to take advantage of trade and business opportunities in the Northern Ireland market. A key priority for us at present is to help businesses to continue to trade and export cross-Border in these challenging times.

Cross-Border trade in goods and services is of great value not only at firm level but overall to both economies. Such trade was in growth mode prior to the pandemic. The latest available statistics show that cross-Border trade in goods and services had risen to €7.4 billion in 2018. Central Statistics Office statistics show that Irish trade with Northern Ireland continued to grow at pace in 2019. Our trade programmes, Acumen, Elevate and Emerge, continue to help firms seeking to grow their cross-Border sales at this time.

As all present are aware, the current economic environment is challenging. That is very much borne out in the results of our recent business monitor survey, on which I have no doubt Ms Curran will comment further at a later stage. On average, 50% of responding firms report that they are contracting, winding down or surviving at all costs, compared with 13% at this time last year. Only 40% of businesses across the island are fully operational. Interestingly, however, 61% of businesses report Covid-19 as having the main impact on business operations, while just 5% state Brexit alone is the cause of business difficulties. It is clear the pandemic has been and remains the biggest concern for businesses at present, impacting significantly on supply and demand, business and consumer confidence and cash flow.

In addition to our full range of trade and innovation supports, InterTradeIreland introduced several emergency Covid supports when the crisis hit last year. These include the e-merge programme, a fully funded initiative that helps businesses to move their presence and sales online, and the emergency business solutions programme, which supports firms in adjusting to the very practical side effects of Covid, including dealing with HR implications and health and safety when getting staff back to work.

Of course, as we will be discussing today, many cross-Border traders are also adjusting to the changing market access conditions arising from the UK exit from the EU. Many firms across the island have supply chains that extend into Great Britain, and InterTradeIreland supports those businesses to understand the new procedures they need to undertake. In addition, InterTradeIreland is providing advice on the changing circumstances for businesses trading in services cross-Border. Indeed, we have been proactively helping businesses in their preparations for Brexit through our Brexit advisory service since the referendum result in 2016.

We have engaged with and supported thousands of microbusinesses and SMEs over the past four years to get their businesses Brexit ready. We saw the results of this in the preparation figures for firms at the end of the transition period, with 45% of cross-Border traders having a plan in place for Brexit compared with 25% of firms overall. Since 1 January, the Brexit advisory service has been incredibly busy dealing with enquiries. The support we have been offering to Irish firms includes Brexit vouchers of up to €2,250 for one-to-one consultancy or training support, which provides firms with professional advice from an expert to map their supply chain and identify and manage supply chain issues, to understand VAT and customs implications, and customs training, among other areas of Brexit advice. Our Brexit digital content site, which has more than 16,000 users, is an excellent source of practical advice for microbusinesses and SMEs. We update the site regularly with new information as it becomes available. We also signpost to the many other relevant sources of support and guidance, including Enterprise Ireland and local enterprise office supports. We have also been engaging with firms extensively through online events. However, challenges remain and it is still early days for firms adapting to such change. In this current difficult and challenging economic environment, we are using our full range of trade and innovation supports to help businesses navigate their way through.

I note that InterTradeIreland continues to work in close partnership with our colleagues at the Department for Enterprise, Trade and Employment as well as experts at the Revenue Commissioners on customs issues, and to bring together relevant bodies in the UK and Ireland to ensure cross-Border traders on the island have a full understanding of the changes taking place.