Responding to the announcement that talks can now move on to trade, Chartered Accountants Ireland is calling for a sense of urgency and clarity to be injected into the next phase of trade talks.

President of Ireland’s biggest accountancy body, Shauna Greely said:

“We are urging that the Phase 2 trade talks progress quickly so that businesses are given absolute certainty about the future. The EU Commission and the UK need to urgently inject some reality into the situation and set out a realistic timetable. March 2019 is fast approaching and given how long it took to reach agreement on Phase 1, we are very concerned that time is running out to reach agreement on the future trade relationship”.

“Declaring as early as possible what the trading landscape will look like will allow opportunities to be seized and confidence to be built. But businesses can’t work with false deadlines. If there is to be a transition period beyond March 2019 and in order make the exit date more manageable, this should be decided on as early as possible”.

Looking ahead to the trade talks, Chartered Accountants Ireland is also calling for businesses to actively engage, lobby and plan. Businesses on both sides of the border now need to get serious about Brexit. They need to make their voices heard among the Brexit debate; for many this will be critical for survival.

President of Chartered Accountants Ireland, Shauna Greely also commented:

“In just over 15 months, the UK will leave the EU and its worrying to think that in a recent survey conducted by Chartered Accountants Ireland, less than 50 percent of Irish businesses had made any contingency plans for Brexit. This is not the time to bury our heads. Traders, particularly those who trade with other EU countries need to examine their supply chains, look at their cash flow and get up date customs and tax knowledge ahead of the new trading environment that they will face in March 2019.”

The Institute is calling on the Irish government to put the economy, jobs and trade first. “It is very concerning to hear that the UK government has not completed even one impact assessment report for any sector of the UK economy. There is no doubt that Brexit will cause upset and it’s important that Ireland mitigates this pain. Ireland needs to be prepared and ready and this means business leaders need to enter the debate and be vocal about their concerns and requirements in Phase 2 of the talks.”

Finally, Chartered Accountants Ireland says that every effort should be made to sustain the advantages of a Common Transit Area. “This would enable goods to be shipped from Ireland to mainland Europe via the UK without customs penalties. And this will be critical for many businesses in Ireland”.