Mr. Steve Harper:

I will follow up on that specific point and then refer back to the initial question. This is where the two agencies work very closely together. I do not know the name of the exporter that is now exporting into the Republic of Ireland, but it is an exporter because it is exporting into the EU. It is up to Invest Northern Ireland to try to take it into wider EU markets on exactly the same basis as it is currently doing, although the markets could be just a few miles apart. In Northern Ireland, we have what we term “accidental exporters” in that they are selling just across the Border and do not realise that they are, to all intents and purposes, exporting. It is a question of how we maximise that and take those products and goods across.

To answer the initial question of whether there is anything to be done regarding awareness, there is a lack of awareness from EU buyers more widely than on the island of Ireland that they can still source product from Northern Ireland on exactly the same terms as they could pre-Brexit. That is not well-known. It is why our Minister for the Economy is leading that business round table later this month in Germany. Our job is to educate those buyers that they can still buy from Northern Ireland and if they have an issue with a supplier from somewhere else in GB, a supplier in Northern Ireland can help in that regard.

The awareness piece is interesting. As we have lived and breathed this for the last eight years, we almost expect everyone across the EU to have lived and breathed it, which is not the case. A big piece of awareness raising is needed.