Mr. Peter Conway:

I thank the Senator for his compliments and questions. I will let Mr. Patterson and Mr. Blaney answer some of them. I will just answer the questions on the port. I would have been very mad to come here today without taking into account the very pertinent question on whether trade lost to us would go to Drogheda, Dundalk, Greenore or Dublin. When one considers this matter, one must remember that one of the great advantages of the Single European Act was that it cut away borders and tariffs and created a marketplace with competition. I am an economist by profession and I believe competition is good for business across the board. Drogheda, Greenore, Warrenpoint, Belfast and Dublin all compete against one another. If one location gains a little business and the another loses, that is life. What concerns me is the imposition of what we will call a non-natural border. I made the point earlier that it is a geographic hinterland to which we appeal.

There could be distortions. For example, there is a large amount of trade from Northern Ireland to Dublin. I refer to haulage. If there are tariffs at the Border, that trade will stay within Northern Ireland and go to Britain via the link from Belfast to Liverpool or Stranraer, or from Warrenpoint to Heysham. There will be benefits to one jurisdiction in certain cases and to another in other cases but, overall, my view and that on both sides of the Border and among businesses is that competition is very good. It is believed that imposing tariffs or trade restrictions is of the past and should not really happen. That is one of the reasons we are trying to lobby as best we can.

We hosted a very large conference, the British Ports Association conference, a couple of years ago. I was delighted that the chief executive of Dublin port addressed it. That is not something we should be afraid of. We should embrace it but I am obviously very much aware that there might be other voices with a different opinion.

Mr. Patterson touched on the mood within the United Kingdom suggesting this will all be resolved by having trade with Canada, New Zealand and Brazil. Canadian vessels come to Warrenpoint with grain and there is trade from Ukraine; we still have that. The point being made is, therefore, another red herring. I was in Dover recently at a conference where I noted that very many of the vessels outside the window were travelling back from and to France. I assure the committee that in ten years' time, they will still be going to France. In 20 years, they will still be going to France; they will not be going to Canada. Floating the idea that trade with Canada will resolve the problem is anathema and incorrect.