Frank O'Rourke (Kildare North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome both ambassadors and we thank them for their presentations. Given that I am the last speaker, most points have been made. The UK vote to leave the EU is unique to Ireland. We would be very parochial advocating the point for all the reasons my colleagues outlined. It is very important the message is reinforced, given that we will need particular assistance under a number of areas such as trade, business and currency. While there have been many positive benefits and countries have done exceptionally well from being members of the EU and the eurozone, do the witnesses feel part of the negativity to the EU is because the EU is seen as disconnected from the people, is operating largely as a dictatorship and has policies that are not practical or fundamental to particular countries or zones where a one-for-all may not exactly fit, and people are feeling a bit annoyed about it? Is this giving people who are opposed to the EU an opportunity to advocate? In the recent UK referendum on Brexit, the EU sceptics who promoted Brexit are no longer to be seen as a fall-back position as to what to do and where their county goes from here and to be involved in the process. Is the vacuum that has been created being fed into by the negativity and disconnect that is coming through from the EU? As a national politician and a public representative, no matter where I go, I pick it up a lot. In my previous job, when I travelled through Europe, I picked up that people felt there was a major disconnect and a problem, and that if it were not addressed, there would be more scepticism.

There is a major issue in the constituency I represent. The food business is a major industry in Ireland and exports are a large part of it. This applies throughout Ireland, including in my area. There is a major problem with exports to the UK or going through the UK. I have raised it here before. The exchange rate is leaving it very difficult for companies to export and they are not in a position to go after the differential. As a result, there is a problem. How can this be dealt with for sustainability while the vacuum exists as the UK leaves the EU? My colleague, Senator Terry Leyden, who is not here, has previously raised the issue of having an Irish representative on the negotiating team regarding the UK leaving the EU to articulate the difficulties, problems and complexities that affect Ireland. There are many major sensitivities that will affect Ireland. What are the witnesses' view and should it be advocated to assist in a positive way to try to deal with the fallout of what has just taken place?