Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Thursday, 1 June 2023
Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement
Business Opportunities and Differences: Engagement with Irish SME Association
Mr. Neil McDonnell:
I know Northern Ireland is in a different rates regime. Here, any of our members would bite your arm off to get the energy prices people get north of the Border. That has been intensely difficult here. Then, as we said regarding the banking environment down here, we are down to 2.1 banks now. There is no consumer power or shopping power, and there is no switching power. Our FSB colleagues north of the Border will always complain about those issues that are worse for them. They are not necessarily the same issues that are worse for us. Everyone looks to better their current position. In the long run, which is what I was saying to Deputy Currie, if the long-term direction of travel includes the possibility of reunification, which at some point looks likely, then there is an onus to try to converge those commercial impacts as well as consumer. If we do not do that, then someone is going to experience a lot of pain at some point.
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