Economic gap across Irish border 'set to widen' as Brexit looms

Report says uncertainty and breakdown of Northern Ireland's assembly will increase disparity between north and south

The gap in fortunes between the economies of Northern Ireland and Ireland will increase in the next two years as Brexit looms, according to a new report published in Dublin.

Consultancy EY predicts 144,000 new jobs will be created across the entire island of Ireland between 2017 and 2020. However, the vast majority, 138,500, will be in the republic - the population of which is more than twice the size of its neighbour - with just 5,800 jobs in Northern Ireland, said EY.

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