The value of Northern Irish imports into the Republic reached nearly €4 billion last year, according to new data.
New figures published by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show imports to the Republic from the North increased by 65 per cent to around €3.956 billion between 2020 and 2021.
The data also shows that exports from the Republic to the North grew to €3.696 billion in 2021 – a 54 per cent rise on the year before.
In contrast, imports from Britain to the Republic slumped by 13 per cent to €15.4 billion in 2021, while exports from Ireland to Britain, which make up 9 per cent of Irish exports, rose by 17 per cent to more than €14 billion compared to 2020.
The figures come amid ongoing negotiations between the European Union and UK government over the future of the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Unionists argue the post-Brexit trade arrangements damage the union between the North and Britain and have created economic barriers on the movement of goods between the two.
The protocol was negotiated to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland, effectively keeping the North within the EU’s single market for goods, an arrangement which has led to the checks on products crossing the Irish Sea from Britain.
The figures were pointed to by some parties on both sides of the Border as one of the benefits of the post-Brexit arrangements for the North.
Adapting
SDLP MLA Matthew O’Toole said that the figures show that “many businesses on both sides of the Border are adapting to take full advantage of the protocol”.
He said: “Northern Ireland now has the unique ability to export seamlessly into both the British market and the EU single market – making us the envy of exporters in Scotland, England and Wales having to deal with new barriers to trade.”
Mr O’Toole said that data “proves the DUP’s scaremongering and brinkmanship does not reflect the interests of our economy or the vast majority of people here”.
Fine Gael TD Neale Richmond said the CSO figures were “very welcome news”.
He added: “Positive Brexit dividends have been few and far between and it is vital that we capitalise on them where possible.
“The protocol is not only protecting Northern Ireland from the worst of Brexit, economically, but it also offers far greater potential than many would have expected.”
