Dundalk Chamber raise Northern Ireland Protocol with Minister of State

Una McGoey, President of Dundalk Chamber and several other Council members met with Minister of State Neale Richmond at a public meeting in the Creative Spark Downtown Hub on Thursday.

Ms. McGoey welcomed the Minister and thanked him for the opportunity to meet. She confirmed that the Budget changes had proved a success in relation to sales of Shop Local vouchers for 2022.

She also detailed the Chamber position on the Northern Ireland Protocol stating that it was clear that businesses in Dundalk and Newry were doing more business than ever and that therefore, if the east west arrangements needed adjustment, the North South position needed to be left alone. 

The Minister gave assurance that the North South position would not change. 

Paddy Malone PRO raised concerns over a number of problems with the Temporary Business Energy Support scheme. He claimed that the timeline for applying for the first grant was too tight, with details only released in December and closed off in January.

He also stated that the response time from Revenue on queries was unacceptable and finally that at 121 pages the scheme as set up was administratively demanding. 

Mr Malone claimed that this explained why the take up was lower than the Minister for Finance expected.

He also invited all present to attend the 7th post Brexit conference on the morning of 8th March, in conjunction with Newry Chamber in the Carrickdale hotel.