The additional spend is thought to have been worth an additional £50 million pounds sterling to the Northern economy in 2008.

According to statistics released by Northern Ireland's Department of Enterprise, Trade late last week, the number of people crossing the border for non-leisure purposes - mainly shopping - has risen by 14% in the last year alone.

Shoppers from the Republic have been taking advantage of the weaker Sterling conversion rates and the North's lower VAT rates, adding millions of pounds sterling to Northern Ireland's coffers, while many businesses, especially those located in the border areas, are left struggling to survive.

While the Irish retail sector renews calls for a reduction in VAT rates and further supports for small and medium enterprises, in the North, Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster has announced a £15 million scheme by Invest NI, to help businesses currently in difficulty to retain key skills.

Although some businesses in border counties like Leitrim have attempted to stem the tide of cross border shoppers, they have had to do so at their own expense.

Manorhamilton Enterprise Forum spokesperson, Noel Loughlin said he is afraid for the future of business in the region and he agrees more needs to be done to assist Irish businesses.

"Nothing is being done to rectify this situation and businesses are suffering big time right now, not just in the border counties but right down to places like Galway as well," he acknowledged.

"You cannot blame people for going north to shop. Everyone has been hit by the downturn and people have to make their money stretch further especially because they have been hit with income levies and tax increases, all of which are affecting how much money families have to survive.

"For the last three years the Government really took their eye off the ball. The money was coming in and everything appeared fine but suddenly the bubble has burst and there is no back up plan. There is no money and I am truly afraid for the future of not just businesses but our young people as well."

Noting that some of the larger retailers had reduced their prices he noted this had been at the expense of Irish suppliers, something he said would obviously have serious knock on effects for rural areas which are dependent on industries such as agriculture.

"Really I cannot see any simple answer to this but definitely the Government needs to address the VAT issue immediately. Irish retailers cannot compete with businesses in the North when there is such a huge differential in VAT rates already between us and Northern Ireland," he said. "We cannot afford to sit back and do nothing."

It's not just retailers who are losing out on that all important euro spend. Northern Ireland is also reaping the benefits of increased cross border tourism traffic with 367,000 trips made to Northern Ireland by Republic of Ireland residents last year alone. Figures show that there was a 26% increase in the number of people holidaying across the border last year.

Chairman of Failte Ireland North West, Paschal Mooney said that Failte Ireland had recognised the need to invest in marketing home holidays and substantial investment had been made to promote holidaying in Ireland but he stressed it was still too early to see the results of this campaign.

"The shockwaves of the economic tsunami which struck us last year are still being felt," he said, but he noted that the Irish retail, tourism and leisure industries were working to generate business, reducing prices and starting their own major campaigns.

"The anecdotal evidence is that where you have a good tourism product and you work to price yourself attractively, you will still attract people from Ireland and across the border.

"We're investing all we can in promoting tourism, especially new initiatives such as Green Box, a concept which promotes the idea of eco-friendly holidays, which has huge value for counties like Leitrim. Now it's down to the weather. We need a good Summer to make up for last year. That is vital for the industry right now."

The retail and tourism sectors are not the only sectors to be affected by growing cross-border activity.

This week figures for vehicle licensing in April show that the overall number of new private cars licensed last month was down by nearly 70% on figures for 2008.

In contrast the number of second hand (imported) private cars licensed for the first time was the highest monthly figure ever recorded by the Central Statistics Office.

6,032 imported used cars - the vast majority of which are coming in from Northern Ireland and England - were licensed in the Republic in April 2009. Shockingly only 5,558 new cars were registered in Ireland for the same period, meaning that, in April, there were more cars purchased in the UK and brought into the country then were actually sold in the Republic.