A survey of local businesses across the Fermanagh and Omagh has found the majority are most concerned about rising costs rather than the NI Protocol.
A total of 40 businesses in the area contributed to the EU Exit and NI Protocol Survey commissioned by the local council’s Brexit Committee, with 55% of those citing rising costs as the biggest challenge to their business.
Rising inflation and increasing energy costs have had a significant impact on businesses as well as households in recent months, with the survey showing the issue to be at the forefront of business thoughts in the Fermanagh and Omagh area.
READ MORE: Popular NI bakery shuts up shop as rising costs ‘cripple’ business
Issues around the recruitment of staff was the next biggest challenge cited by the businesses, with 15% saying it was what most worried them.
Just 10% of businesses included in the survey highlighted issues around Brexit and the Protocol as their main concern.
However 38% of businesses surveyed said they were currently struggling with issues related to the Protocol while 40% say it has caused disruption to their business.
The Protocol is an arrangement governing trade across the Irish Sea post-Brexit. It was negotiated between the UK and EU as part of the Withdrawal Agreement and how both sides overcame the main logjam in the Brexit divorce talks - the Irish land border.
Now the UK government has legislated to unilaterally remove parts of the Protocol as Stormont currently sits idle without DUP involvement in an Executive.
The report from Fermanagh and Omagh District Council was carried out using the survey of 40 businesses of varying sizes and from different sectors.
“Over half of businesses surveyed cited ‘rising costs’ as the biggest challenge facing their business right now; 15% cited ‘people’ and 10% cited ‘Brexit / NI Protocol’,” the report stated. “The global geo-political uncertainty was noted as the most significant driver of these challenges; 20% of respondents did cite Brexit/NI Protocol as the biggest driver.”
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