Small businesses warn of €1bn loss over foreign shopping

IN YET another throwback to the ’80s, the Buy Irish campaign is elbowing its way back to the fore as competition from foreign shores threatens retailers’ Christmas take.

The Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association (ISME) has warned that thousands of jobs and up to €1 billion is lost to the economy because of our love of shopping over the border and taking flights to New York before Christmas.

The Buy Irish campaign was launched by the Government in the 1980s but was deemed unlawful by the European Court of Justice who said it would have the “practical effect” of restricting imports.