The Irish Congress of Trade Unions is seeking urgent engagement with Government, opposition parties and business groups on preparations for a ‘hard Brexit,’ which could put thousands of jobs at risk. Congress also wants specific measures to protect employment standards in sectors most dependent on trade with the UK and northern Ireland, as these are most vulnerable to the new trade environment expected once Britain leaves the EU single market.

In a new bulletin, Congress says the Government has yet to publish a concrete plan to achieve its broad objectives of maintaining the common travel area, preventing a hard border, and protecting the provisions of the Good Friday agreement.

It calls on the administration to set out a detailed set of policy principals now that the British Government and the European Commission have published white papers on Brexit.

Unions believe Brexit will lead to the imposition of trade barriers, currency fluctuations, and a slowdown in the British economy, which is Ireland’s largest single export market. “Although both governments have emphasised their wish to see a ‘seamless’ and ‘frictionless’ border, Congress believes this would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to achieve in practice,” it says.