SINCE THE 2016 Brexit vote, talks of Irish reunification among the people and pundits are being discussed more than ever.

However, a united Ireland isn’t necessarily the gold standard in good north-south relations as Brexit seems to have already strengthened the relationship between businesses north and south. In the year to September, the value of imports to the Republic from the North grew by 60% to almost €2.6 billion while the value of goods going the opposite direction rose by almost 50% to €2.8 billion.

Complexities and the additional red tape since 1 January mean businesses in the north and south have struggled with supply lines from Britain, so this boom also has to be credited with necessity rather than politics. New Brexit rules in Northern Ireland have also driven a wedge between north and south – as professional qualifications in the north aren’t automatically recognised in the south anymore.

Omnipresent is the Northern Ireland Protocol which the EU and UK both agree there are issues with, changes to which could fracture the currently booming all-island economy.

So today we’re asking: Do you think Brexit will bring Northern Ireland and the Republic closer together or further apart?

This work is co-funded by Journal Media and a grant programme from the European Parliament. Any opinions or conclusions expressed in this work is the author’s own. The European Parliament has no involvement in nor responsibility for the editorial content published by the project. For more information, see here.

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