IBEC claims Irish firms will need €400m a year in subsidies to help them through Brexit

As talks on Brexit formally begin in Brussels later today, it has been claimed Irish companies may need to be subsidised to the tune of €300-€400m per year in order to help them trade through the disruption, writes Stephen Rogers.

Ibec, which made the call, suggested the funding should come from the EU and the Government. It said the resources required will be in the region of 5% of the value of current indigenous annual export sales to the UK and that up to €400m may be needed annually in a worst case scenario.