Joe O'Reilly (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I join my colleague, Deputy Durkan, in congratulating the Vice Chairman on his elevation, wishing him well in the role, and expressing my complete belief that he will distinguish himself in that role as he has in others. I welcome Mr. McCarthy. We have met on a number of occasions and he has good connections with the Breffni county.

Mr. McCarthy did not talk much about the role of UKIP, although I know there is now an expectation that it will not do overly well. It just occurred to me and I would like him to comment on this: if UKIP got a number of seats, it would be very aggressive supporters of the referendum and of exit. That could queer the pitch a bit, if it were to become partners in government, particularly with the Conservatives. He might comment on how he would evaluate that.

This is a quirky question. Mr. McCarthy is very much aware that there is a huge opportunity for traders in the Border counties - Cavan, Monaghan and across Donegal and Louth - for retailers and all kinds of manufacturers and small traders. It would be no harm if he said it on the record here as we are in public session, because it is something we need to exhort traders along the Border to avail of. As the euro is at its lowest level in a long time, there is huge potential to sell into Northern Ireland and to increase sales. There is a huge opening for Internet sales. While not completely germane to this meeting, it would be good to have Mr. McCarthy accept that point in public, because I would like to exhort traders in the Border area to grasp this opportunity, particularly in Internet sales. There is a huge opening there, and it could be done by small traders. It has a very low capital input.

If the UK were outside of the EU and sterling were weaker than the euro - that may not seem a reasonable hypothesis at the moment - that could have a significant impact in terms of UK tourists coming into our country. Could one argue, in a perverse way, that if sterling were strong relative to the euro, we would have more tourism from the UK, as well as a greater potential for trade? There would also be the converse, of course. Is there a possibility that it may not all be negative and opportunities could be presented by the UK leaving the EU?

I share Senator Kathryn Reilly's concern over the customs issue. We have spent years achieving normalisation in this regard. To go back to a whole bureaucratic apparatus around the Border would be a great disimprovement in the lives of people there. As we are an agricultural country, the GM foods issue and the difference in emphasis in that regard is another important consideration.

Could we stand alone with the IFSC? Could we hold the jobs we have there or would there be much displacement of jobs? While I am a layperson in this area, it makes sense to me that many areas of specialisation are satellites of London, the financial capital of the world. How would we stand jobs wise in that regard?

I accept Mr. McCarthy’s basic conclusion that we should be proactive in negotiating with the UK if it negotiates with the EU. I am happy the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade is taking an initiative in this regard. We should be proactive at the diplomatic level, using the Irish communities in the UK and our connections there to thwart the referendum in the first instance. Failing to do so, we must ensure a deal would be negotiated that would work. This discussion is very interesting. Living where I live, the whole community stands to suffer if the UK leaves the EU.