Welcoming the news of the support package, Aodhán Connolly, Director of the Northern Ireland Retail Consortium said: “Getting goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland is integral to both the food supply chain and for food processing. It is essential in the current COVID- 19 emergency that all supply chains run smoothly. 70% of the value of goods that cross the Irish Sea from Great Britain to Northern Ireland are destined for retailers shelves so we need this route to be fully operational.
“This is not just about capacity on these routes, we need availability at required times to keep just in time goods moving which allows us to continue to give the NI households the choice and affordability they enjoy.
“With this support package in place the ferry companies must maintain the number of sailings necessary to facilitate the just in time supply chain not just for retail, but for industries across the Northern Ireland Economy.”
