The plight of small and medium businesses along the border who are "struggling" with the impact of increasing energy costs has been raised in the Dáil. Deputy Brendan Smith, who raised the matter, said the economy of Cavan-Monaghan and the wider Border region was heavily dependent on SMEs.
He pointed out that it was these very enterprises that are now concerned about the increasing costs facing businesses. Deputy Smith also highlighted how these businesses were focused on their main export markets - Northern Ireland and Britain - and as a direct result they faced additional costs because of Brexit.
"I appealed to the Taoiseach to give particular consideration to the small and medium enterprises because of the challenges they face through no fault of their own. And, for companies like ours in Cavan and Monaghan when they start off, their first export market is Northern Ireland and then Britain.
"And, we know because of Brexit and and supply chain issues there have been additional costs incurred by many of these businesses," he added. Meanwhile, in response to Deputy Smith's concerns, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said that if the UK's economy is strong, Ireland's economy is strong. He added that the situation would be kept "under review" because the nature of the costs was both "significant and severe".
