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10

2019 Tánaiste Predicts Irish Firms Irish Ports See Reduction In Volume
Of Goods Passing Through
30th, through Ireland’s ports
The volume of goods going
October Moving North To Take between April and June this

year fell in comparison with

| Advantage Of Brexit Deal the same period last year,
according to the Central
EXAMINER he Tánaiste has predicted Statistics Office.
The seven main Irish ports - Dublin, Cork, Rosslare,
Drogheda, Shannon Foynes, Waterford and Bantry Bay - han-
that Irish companies may
dled 12.3 million tonnes of goods in the three months.
Tmove north of the border
This is a decrease of 7.5% compared with the same three
IRISH such is the “extraordinary” com- months of 2018.
petitive advantage the Brexit deal
Exports from these ports amounted to 4.3 million tonnes, an
offerstheregion. almost 9% fall on the same period last year, while there were 8
Simon Coveney said the million tonnes of imports, a 6.7% decrease on the three months
terms of the agreement in 2018.
between the UK and EU pre- Two traffic categories in Q2 2019 saw quarterly percentage
sented an “exciting and genuine increases - Lo-lo traffic (+7.6%) and Break bulk goods (+12.4%).
opportunity” for Northern The results also show that the number of vessels arriving dur-
Ireland to prosper. ing the three months fell by 118 (-3.5%), while the gross tonnage
Addressing a gathering of of all arriving vessels went down by 3.3% to 68,503 thousand
business leaders in Belfast, Mr tonnes.
Coveney said entrepreneurs Dublin port accounted for 63.9% of all vessel arrivals in Irish
would see the rewards of set- ports and just over half (53.7%) of the total tonnage of goods han-
ting up in a region operating dled in Q2 2019.
under single market rules but Great Britain and Northern Ireland accounted for 40.3% of the
with tariff free access to the UK total tonnage of goods handled in the main ports by region of
market. the wrangle over how the ongoing failure to revive the trade in Q2 2019, and other EU countries accounted for a similar
“In time, when the politics of Stormont Assembly will con- institutions could lead to “more percentage of trade (39.7%).
this settles down, business lead- sent to the Brexit deal. decision-making in London”. Irish ports handled 755,000 passengers in Q2 2019, a decrease
ers will start to look at this for A Stormont vote on The Tánaiste also moved to of 0.8% compared with the same period in 2018. In the second
what it really is – which is an whether to extend an initial reassure unionists that the gov- quarter of 2019, Dublin port accounted for 73.2% of all passenger
extraordinary business oppor- four-year period for the post- ernment was mindful of their journeys. C
tunity,” he told the Belfast Brexit arrangements will be concerns about the Brexit deal.
Chamber’s annual lunch. done on the basis of a simple “It has been a cause of gen- Workers Would Accept Wage Cuts For Sake
Mr Coveney said if compa- majority of MLAs. uine regret and concern for us Of Climate Change And Flexible Working
nies south of the border were The move has angered the that these negotiations have Almost three in 10 workers say they would take a 10% pay cut
faced with any trade barriers DUP, which insists that consent impacted negatively on our to work for a company committed to helping solve issues such as
into the UK market post-Brexit must be on the basis of a major- relationships with unionism, on climate change and inequality.
they would likely look north. ity of unionists and a majority political and community rela- A survey of more than 3,000 workers in Europe found nearly
“I think there will be a huge of nationalists agreeing to back tionships within Northern two thirds expect their employer to be part of the solution for
incentive for a lot of Irish com- the move. Ireland, and on wider UK-Irish such issues.
panies to locate north of the Mr Coveney said using the relationships,” he said. Up to 32% would take a pay cut if the company embraced
border and to effectively oper- parallel consent model would Mr Coveney said many Irish more flexible working hours.
ate the rules of the single mar- lead to “paralysis”. businesses were raising ques- It also found that 74% think that as technology improves,
ket but at the same time have “If cross-community support tions over whether a “competi- employers need to empower workers to achieve a better
unfettered access to the UK,” in the Assembly is required for tive advantage” for Northern work/life balance, but the majority of workers are sceptical of
he said. any deal, the risk is paralysis, a Ireland had been deliberately their employer’s intentions.
“I think business models will zero sum game, and potentially designed into the agreement. Up to 65% believe their employers will use automated tech-
look at those opportunities and no solution at all,” he said. “I think that’s a legitimate nology to increase profits and cut jobs.
adapt to change over time.” “There is no way in my view enough question but given the Respondents also predicted that the workforce as they know
In his speech, Mr Coveney to set up a cross-community unique circumstances and pres- it will drastically change with 34% expecting to work collabora-
said a Brexit extension, if grant- vote that doesn’t give one side sure points of Northern Ireland tively with robots or Artificial Intelligence in the next five years.
ed, was likely to be a flexible or the other – and in some cases through Brexit I think that’s Gary Hopwood, Managing Director, Ricoh Ireland, said:
one that would allow the UK to one party or one other – a prac- what we should be doing,” he “Technology is shaping how and where people work with sus-
leave the EU prior to the end of tical veto.” said. tainability, collaboration and agility taking precedence. For
January next year. Referring to events on Mr Coveney told the audi- employees, the onus is on employers to leverage the new tools
He said his government Monday when Westminster ence at the Crown Plaza hotel: available to make a positive difference both in work and in the
would back extension but cau- legislation came into effect in “Entrepreneurship is about see- wider community.
tioned that it was a case of Northern Ireland that decrimi- ing the opportunity others “Employers need to embrace this to make a real difference in
“wait and see” if any of the nalized abortion and legalized miss. Where others only see society and for their people, whilst remembering that human
other EU states raised “issues” same sex marriage, Mr risk, business leaders such as workers are absolutely crucial within the workplace of the
with the move. Coveney said it was “unfortu- yourselves see the accompany- future. After all, working together is the only way of tackling the
The Tánaiste also said the nate” that decisions on those ing reward. major issues that the world is currently facing.
Irish and UK governments sensitive social issues had not “I hope you can see that this “Moreover, business owners need to realize the potential ben-
were committed to boosting been taken by a devolved deal provides an exciting and efits of adopting an eco-friendly approach that takes advantage of
investment in Northern Ireland administration. genuine opportunity for automation and also empowers people, such as increased pro-
post-Brexit, working together He said a successful post- Northern Ireland while fully ductivity and talent retention. Technology has the power to sup-
on major infrastructure proj- Brexit relationship could pave respecting the constitutional port workers not only in terms of productivity and flexibility but
ects. the way for the restoration of integrity of Northern Ireland as also for more valuable and fulfilling work.” C
Mr Coveney also addressed Stormont but warned that part of the UK.” C