Is the Republic of Ireland really going to spend millions of Euros each year to stop a few smugglers?
The border runs through rural areas.
With the price of petrol, few people will drive 20 to 40 kilometers to save a few pounds buying smuggled goods.
Vehicles are taxed upon registration. What would be worth smuggling? What has high tariffs nowadays? The UK is not a cheap labour country.
I am afraid the facts on the ground cannot be so airily dismissed, the economies of the Republic and Northern Ireland are thoroughly intermixed and practically impossible to segregate, hence, the problem for EU and GB.