Assistant Director of the Small Firms Association (SFA), Linda Barry, has today claimed that the connections between the Irish and British economies are as deep as they are wide and that trade between the two countries directly supports over 400,000 jobs – half of them in Ireland.

She has warned that the looming referendum is already having a significant impact on exchange rates and that uncertainty has pushed the value of sterling lower, increasing the competitive pressures on Irish exporters.

Furthermore, Barry claims that small firms do not have the same degree of mobility, flexibility and diversification that may help larger businesses to navigate the risks posed by a UK exit from the EU. She has stressed that small businesses may be dependent on a UK supplier, investor or market, which means that their very survival hangs in the balance.

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