Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

A lot of what I had intended to ask has been covered. The subvention exists because of low productivity in the North, and there is a huge assumption being made here that that is going to continue. Research has shown Irish unity would boost the Irish economy, and we know partition has caused the economy here to suffer. You would hope, therefore, that the removal of partition would end up boosting the economy. We have even seen since Brexit that trade between the North and the South has increased greatly, although I acknowledge that is a benefit of part of Ireland being in the EU. As our guests said, it is hard to make assumptions because there is a lack of a plan or preparation, so the Irish Government needs to start planning and looking at what a new or future Ireland might look like. As Mr. Hazzard said, a lot of assumptions are being made without knowing all the facts.