The sharp decline in the value of sterling, especially from late 2007 to early 2009, has of course been inconvenient, to say the least, for businesses in the Republic exposed to UK competition – and let’s not forget that we have long been and are still among the UK’s largest trading partners. The contrasting exchange rate regimes and policies have certainly complicated life.
Achieving cost savings sufficient to offset the exchange rate movement – albeit partially mitigated by higher UK inflation – has proved difficult, as is well understood by businesses in border counties such as Cavan. Achieving lower nominal wage rates is not easy.