Around 55,000 Irish businesses are still not prepared for trading with Britain after it leaves the EU next year.

The businesses all currently trade with Britain but have yet to receive an EORI number – the minimum requirement for any business that wishes to trade with a non-EU country.

The UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has insisted that the UK will leave on January 31st and has ruled out extending the transition period beyond December 31st 2020.

It means that any business that wants to keep trading with Britain after that date needs an EORI number.

Fianna Fáil’s Brexit spokeswoman Lisa Chambers, who obtained the figures through a parliamentary question, said many businesses are not prepared.

“The figures revealed to me show there is a still a level of unpreparedness ahead of Brexit,” she said.

“The fact there are 55,000 companies that traded with the UK in 2018 without an EORI number is concerning.”

She said it is significant to note that 3,000 businesses with an import or export trade of over €50,000 to the UK have yet to receive their number.

“These are worrying statistics, particularly given Prime Minister Johnson’s plan to legislate to prevent an extension to the transition period beyond the end of 2020,” she said.

“The reality is that a no deal Brexit is not off the table and businesses must be prepared for all potential outcomes.

“We cannot take our foot off the pedal in terms of preparations.”

She said the figures show that the Government’s messaging on ‘getting Brexit ready’ has “not had the desired impact.”

“There is a perception that Ireland is adequately prepared for Brexit, these statistics demonstrate that we are not and more needs to be done in this regard,” she said.

In his response to Deputy Chambers, the finance Minister Paschal Donohoe said: “Revenue advise that 91.7% of the value of imports from the UK in 2018 and 97.5% of the value of exports to the UK in 2018 was carried out by businesses who now have an EORI number.”