The British Irish Chamber of Commerce has called for the retention and expansion of the Brexit Contingency Fund along with other measures to support businesses that will likely be impacted by a no-deal Brexit.
In its Budget 2021 submission, the Chamber said the Government's immediate focus is correctly on the Covid-19 outbreak.
But it urged the Government not to lose sight of the impact Brexit will have on Irish trade with the UK.
The Chamber also recommends that Budget 2021 should introduce a temporary reduction to the VAT rate for the tourism and hospitality sectors of 0% during the Covid-19 crisis, while it said that the reduced rate of employer PRSI of 0.5% should be maintained until 2022.
In order to preserve the country's economic and social relationship with the UK and to protect the economy here, it said that resources from the dedicated Brexit Adjustment Reserve Fund should be ringfenced for the agri-food sector given the scale of the impact it faces from Brexit.
It also urged the immediate establishment of the Commission on Welfare and Taxation to improve competitiveness and drive economic growth.
The Chamber called on the Government to put in place dedicated supports for the agri-food, hospitality and tourism sectors and to maintain emergency supports for higher education institutions due to the Covid-19 crisis.
Paul Lynam, Director of Policy, British Irish Chamber of Commerce, said that Budget 2021 is likely to be one of the most decisive budgets in the history of the State.
"Businesses in Ireland are facing the real and growing prospect of no-deal Brexit shock that will result in additional costs and new burdens on firms who are grappling with the devastating economic effects of Covid-19," Mr Lynam said.
"Our message from the members of the British Irish Chamber of Commerce is simple - if the Government facilitates the economic environment needed to enable trade, to incentivise investment and to support jobs growth then that is exactly what our member firms will do," he added.
