Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will try to be brief. I thank the witnesses for coming here today. I read their submission before they came and had an idea they were going to open up an entire can of worms. They have thrown the elephant into the middle of the room. Their presentation is about the relationship with the Twenty-six Counties in the South and the relationship with the UK. That is really what it is about. The Good Friday Agreement is a tripartite agreement. There are three sides to that agreement - the UK, Ireland and Europe. I agree with the witnesses' belief that there is only one solution here, which is an economic entity that is the island of Ireland.

I am not so sure I would go along with the notion of border controls at airports and things like that, which would be a very political issue. As a civic society group, the Border Communities Against Brexit has really put it up to the entire European Community and to the UK today. The group has now tested our relationship with the 26 because they have to understand the uniqueness of this island. They have to understand what they are putting at risk.

The last two paragraphs of the group's presentation are stark and scary. I also remember what it was like to arrive at the Border and the long delays. I also saw the roads that were blasted to hell in order to stop people crossing them. We cannot go back to that. The day after the Brexit referendum was passed, I wrote an article about the re-imposition of a border and people told me I was mad. However, 26 other partners are included with us. Based on meetings I have attended in Bratislava and Brussels, I would say that a fair portion of them are not too sympathetic to the UK and its problems. A lot of lip service is being paid to the unique problem of Ireland. I am not so sure that anybody really understands what this will do this island and I am really concerned about that.

We have already discussed the money going to farmers in the North of Ireland. I am interested in the movements of agricultural product across the Border. I know it is 1 million gallons of milk a day. I do not know how many tonnes of beef, lamb and bacon cross over and back, and the economic impact of that. I know people move across the Border to work in all sorts of occupations. My colleague, Deputy Brendan Smith, spoke about raw materials and finished product. It is so ingrained that it is hard to find out. On medevac, we now have two helicopter units in the North of Ireland. Where will that sit in the new situation? There is also the movement of students coming back and forth across the Border.

The bottom line is that the witnesses have told us today that our two economies are so interlinked and so constantly dependent on one another, there can be no divide. There can be no border, soft, hard or anything else. I feel afraid that they are talking about an "Irexit" where Ireland will have no choice, because of how closely interlinked the two economies are, but to follow the Brits. That would really worry me. I would be interested in the witnesses' views on that. I thank them for their presentation.