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Inishowen businesses "get a
hiding"
08.12.09
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A CARNDONAGH
businessman has accused the Government of
"sacrificing" small Inishowen businesses by ignoring
the haemorrhage of trade over the border to Derry.
Peter Mullan was reacting to new figures showing
that nearly €500m was spent in shopping trips to the
North in the year from July 2008 to July 2009. The
CSO statistics revealed one third of those shoppers
were from Dublin, with the remainder predominantly
from counties such as Donegal.
Mr Mullan who runs interior design company Red Door
Interiors said small local businesses were "getting
a hiding".
"The main problem that retailers and manufacturers
have is not the costs of trading here, not the VAT
rate, but the difference in value between sterling
and the euro," said Mr Mullan.
"A billion euro will have flowed across the border
into the six counties by year end. According to
independent experts, this is compounded by at least
half as much again, allowing for the loss of trade
coming here from the Six Counties. That’s a loss of
€1.5 billion to retailers, year ending." |
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Mr Mullan said the
losses were highest and most damaging the closer a
business was to the border. "Taking that the loss is
the highest and damage is greatest closest to the
border and diluted the further you go away, Donegal
and Inishowen are getting a hiding.
"And that's just in retail. Look at manufacturing.
They have the same problems and are losing even more
money," he added.
Mr Mullan's comments came as a new report yesterday
declared that the North had emerged |
from recession. The
study by Northern Bank said while economic activity
was still weak, one of the contributory factors to
the North's ongoing recovery was the phenomenon of
cross border shopping.
As the Government puts the finishing touches to
Budget 2010 tomorrow, Peter Mullan added: "As the
only European country that has a land border with
the UK and as the UK has refused to join the euro,
where is the help from the Europe Union for us
retailers and manufacturers who have to try and
compete with Britain’s anti-European and self
interest policies?
"It is my belief that just like Fifa, the European
Union cares nothing for Ireland. As long as the big
boys are looked after, all will be ok. And our
Government will continue to go cap in hand and
sacrifice small and indigenous border businesses on
the altar of self promotion."
Meanwhile, senior Cabinet minister Willie O'Dea
appeared to hint, during an interview on RTE radio
at the weekend, that some measures on VAT in the
Budget were imminent in a bid to stem the northerly
flow of the euro. |
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