The announcement of a €100m fund to aid beef farmers who suffered bad prices since last autumn because of Brexit is recognition of the problem Brexit is already having, never mind if the UK leaves the EU at Halloween.

Unfortunately, that is a problem that is very much ongoing as there is no evidence that the UK is in a position to resolve its internal political differences to ensure an orderly departure.

Fatigue

Brexit fatigue has meant that as an issue it has dropped down media priority since the deadlines at the end of March and again in April were missed.

Council elections in England delivered a predictable hammering to the Prime Minister’s Conservative party, with the main opposition Labour party faring little better.

Next up are the European Parliament elections on Thursday 23 May, which neither of the main parties ever wanted to take part in but are a condition of the extension of UK membership of the EU until 31 October.

UK political chaos

Incredibly, the Conservative party is languishing in the polls, with the Brexit party appearing to have as much support as the Labour and Conservative parties combined.

In addition, talks took place between the main parties in Westminster this week on cross-party support for another attempt to get parliamentary approval for the Prime Minister’s withdrawal agreement.

This is being brought back for another vote in June but there is little evidence to suggest it can succeed this time having failed on three previous occasions.

PM’s days numbered

The other relevant political news coming out of Westminster this week is that the Prime Minister’s time in office is drawing to a close. Her survival in office to this point is a reflection of the chaos in the UK political system as one defeat in parliament usually means departure whereas for this prime minister defeat has become the norm.

The likely disaster in next Thursday’s elections on top of the council elections will hasten her departure

The likely disaster in next Thursday’s elections on top of the council elections will hasten her departure even if the party doesn’t appear yet to have the mechanism to force her out because party rules mean she cannot be directly challenged again until December.

European Commissioner for Agriculture Phil Hogan delivered for farmers this week but unfortunately he could be called on to do so again as the prospect of a no-deal Brexit increases

Currency

In practical terms, developments of recent days mean that Irish sales to the UK are now worth 3% less than a fortnight ago. Then, the sterling-euro exchange rate meant that €1 was worth under 85p, whereas today it is worth almost 88p.

This means that when Irish exporters are selling to UK customers in sterling, the sterling they receive is worth 3% less than it was two weeks ago when it is converted into euro.

Currency volatility is the everyday impact of Brexit on Irish farmers. The dire consequences of a no-deal Brexit and proposed UK tariff arrangements in this event have been well documented. This week, the European Commission and Government delivered on the principle of having the back of Irish farmers on Brexit. Unfortunately, this request may have been just the first.