As negotiations around the Protocol rumble on, Northern Ireland is finding a thirsty buyer from its nearest neighbour in the Republic which increased its imports from the region by over £1 billion last year.
Imports to the Republic from Northern Ireland climbed by 32% to £4.8 billion in 2022, a jump from £3.6 billion in the previous year, according to Dublin’s Central Statistics Office.
The data came as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak visited Belfast to meet with Stormont leaders to hammer out a deal on the protocol, raising expectations that a resolution could emerge in the coming weeks. The DUP has refused to form an Executive following last spring’s elections in protest against the arrangement with Europe which it feels annexes Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK.
