Sinn Féin MLA Caoimhe Archibald said a strategy is needed to take advantage of the north’s special status under the protocol and continued access to the EU single market to attract investment and create jobs here.

The party’s economy spokesperson said:

“Newly published data from the Central Statistics Office in the south shows the trend of increased cross-border trade since the beginning of the year continues and has strengthened both on a north to south basis and from south to north.

“The figures published for June show that over the first six months of 2021 north to south trade has increased by 78% from €998 million to €1.77 billion compared to the same period in 2020 while south to north trade has also increased by 43% from €1.1 billion to €1.576 billion.

“It is clear over recent days in Britain, the impact that Brexit is having on supply chains.

“The protocol provides vital mitigations for businesses here and protects important all-island supply chains.

“We need to see a greater focus on helping businesses identify opportunities and we need a strategy to take advantage of our special status under the protocol of continued access to the EU single market to attract investment and create jobs here.

“The DUP and the British government need to face the realities of the Brexit they negotiated and agreed, they need listen to businesses, to the manufacturers, farmers and retailers who are telling us all that they want the protocol to work and find permanent solutions to issues over the next number of weeks.”