Mr. Máirtín Ó Muilleoir:

I recently invited the Welsh Finance Minister, Mark Drakeford, and his Scottish counterpart, Derek Mackay, to Newry for a trilateral meeting because I wanted them to get grassroots feedback. People are worried and determined not to be cast aside. They want to have their voices heard. I mentioned farmers and small business owners but it is also artists, community groups, people who work on one side of the Border and live on the other, and those with family members on both sides of the Border. Nobody will easily accept a return to road blocks or tariffs on the Border. I mentioned I attended one of the cross-Border protests together with colleagues from Sinn Féin, the SDLP and Fianna Fáil.

Politicians were banned from the platform which was not a bad idea. We saw a member of the Chamber of Commerce in Dundalk speak - I do not know if it was the same gentleman - but people across the spectrum were making their voices heard. That will happen increasingly in the time ahead. I commend this committee on allowing people to have their voices heard on this critical issue.

When I was in Brussels I met Jim Nicholson, the Ulster Unionist MEP. I do not think anyone would describe him as an advocate for Brexit but he said that 90% of the milk used in processing and for other purposes in County Monaghan comes from the North. How would that continue under any type of tariff system? Those are all the issues we need consider. I commend the committee for giving people a platform to raise them.