8th December 2017

The Northern Ireland Food and Drink Association (NIFDA) today welcomed the announcement that agreement has been reached on broad parameters in Brexit talks.

Commenting on the outcome, NIFDA Chair, Declan Billington said:

“We welcome the announcements today that Northern Ireland will not face regulatory divergence from the rest of the UK, which would have followed a border in the Irish Sea and that it will also not face a hard border with the Republic of Ireland.  Either of these scenarios could have been hugely damaging to an industry employing 100,000 people locally and worth almost £5 billion annually to the Northern Ireland economy. We note however that there is still a lot of work to be done to deliver workable solutions in practice.

“We also welcome the decision that the Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly will be given the flexibility to find local solutions to address the local challenges Brexit may bring to our economy. In light of this it is essential that our Executive is re-formed and works to deliver the best outcome for all of the people of Northern Ireland at this crucial time in our history.”