Declan Breathnach (Louth, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister and his officials to the committee. I hope this is a serious start to the dialogue on the myriad issues covered by the Good Friday Agreement with, as is clearly necessary, a particular emphasis on Brexit over the next period of time. At the risk of being repetitive, I will cover the issue of funding, which has been alluded to by other members, to stress the importance of funding certainty for the peace and INTERREG programmes. For community groups, local authorities or any of the myriad organisations which look to plan for funding, it is no good to have a stop-start situation. Local authorities, for example, need to plan the spending of this money right up to 2021.

I appeal to the Minister to ensure that the British Exchequer gives an early commitment to supporting those programmes in order to allow for the necessary planning to bring those projects to a conclusion.

The second issue has already been referred to by Deputy Smith. It is the question of ensuring that there is joined-up thinking and dialogue from both a North-South and an east-west perspective. There was a symposium in the Mansion House last week, which was a great start, as is today's committee meeting, concerning the dialogue on related macro issues. I am equally concerned about micro issues. The Taoiseach has referred to the need for a conversation, including the farm gate and grocery store, given the impact that Brexit will have. Large organisations may have the wherewithal to embrace the difficulties that Brexit has posed for us, but more important we must examine how individual community groups can express their concerns. It is only when one gets down to the nitty-gritty that one can realise the unravelling of this Brexit situation is almost too complicated to imagine.

I would like the Minister to comment on those two issues.