[1andrew1]

Irish leaders have warned of an economic “disaster” on both sides of the border without decisive action to confront the effects of Britain’s impending departure from the EU.

Amid warnings of “incalculable consequences” for the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland as the Brexit process unfolds, Ireland’s prime minister Enda Kenny will convene an unprecedented cross-border summit of political leaders to consider what steps to take.

McGrane predicted job losses after Christmas on both sides of the Irish Sea, saying it was not possible to “pent up price increases without being able to pass them on”.

A mushroom factory in the small rural town of Tipperary that closed in August was an early warning sign, a canary in the coalmine. An estimated 90% of mushrooms are exported to the UK, bringing in about €120m each year.

The Tipperary factory relied heavily on British sales and closed with the loss of 75 jobs as a direct result of Brexit, with the owner blaming the drop in sterling against the euro.

“I did not expect when the British people went to the polls that it would have had any consequence for a small town like ours,” independent councillor Denis Leahy told the Guardian.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...looming-crisis