Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 16 November 2017
42. Deputy Maurice Quinlivan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the number of businesses engaged in cross-Border trade with Northern Ireland; the number of persons employed by these businesses; and the value of this trade in 2015, in tabular form. [48516/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe total value of goods exported from this jurisdiction to Northern Ireland in 2015 was €1.73bn.
Details on the number of businesses involved in this cross-border trade can be estimated by reference to the EU's system for collecting statistics on the movement of goods between its Member States. This system sets a threshold of €635,000 before exporters are required to make detailed returns (including data on products and destinations). Recent research indicates that there are 880 companies that import and/or export with Northern Ireland which are required to make such returns and they account for approximately 48% of the total exports to Northern Ireland. In addition, there are also smaller exporters whose activities fall below that threshold and for whom more precise details are not currently available. Total employee numbers for all the exporting companies are also not currently available.
My Department has helped to fund research, commissioned by InterTrade Ireland and undertaken by the Economic and Social Research Institute, which examines North-South trade in the context of Brexit. The latest phase of that research is nearing finalisation and will be published shortly.
