Sterling at 84p boosts small Irish firms selling into Brexit Britain       

Dublin Port said volumes to Britain – Holyhead, Liverpool, and Heysham – fell by over 21% in the first nine months and that volume to continental Europe – Rotterdam, Zeebrugge, Antwerp, and Cherbourg – climbed 36%. File picture: Neil Michael

Sterling rose to 84 pence against the euro, helping to provide some sort of relief to Irish small firms exporting across the Irish Sea into Britain.

Since the 2016 Brexit referendum, exporters have faced headwinds as sterling crumpled that made it harder for many Irish companies to make money when they strike contracts to supply customers in Britain. 

However, sterling's rise in recent weeks against the euro has increasingly made selling into Britain more competitive despite the uncertainties caused by the hard Brexit deal the UK signed up to last Christmas.

Small Irish firms rely disproportionately on the British market because the challenges they face in diversifying and attempting to replace British orders with continental orders, trade experts have said.                               

New figures released by Dublin Port confirm the disruption the Brexit deal has caused this year on the Irish Sea, forcing some exporters to divert goods away from English motorways to avoid the disruption at Channel ports and use direct sea routes from Ireland into France instead.  

The port said volumes to Britain – Holyhead, Liverpool, and Heysham – fell by over 21% in the first nine months and that volume to continental Europe – Rotterdam, Zeebrugge, Antwerp, and Cherbourg – climbed 36%.