Cross-Border shopping to cost 1,700 jobs, retailers say

RONAN McGREEVY

CROSS-BORDER shopping will cost 1,700 retail jobs in the south this month, it has been claimed.

Retail Ireland, the Ibec group that represents the sector, said every 150 cross-Border shopping trips costs a job in the Republic.

It has now called for excise levels on drink to be reduced by 20 per cent in the run-up to Christmas because cheaper alcohol is the main reason why consumers shop in the North.

The wages earned by those who will lose their jobs as a result of cross-Border shopping this month amount to €63 million per annum and the exchequer will lose €34 million in lost taxes and extra social welfare payments, Retail Ireland estimates.

It has based its figures on a survey carried out by TNS Worldpanel which analyses the UK grocery sector.

TNS estimates that 3.5 per cent of the Republic’s retail market has migrated North.