Mr. Francie Molloy:

I thank the witnesses for the presentation, which puts a focus on how Brexit will affect every aspect of life. The main thing is the respect there needs to be for the 56% who voted to remain.

I have concerns about border controls. It cannot be an inland Border on those 320 miles. It must be at ports and airports because we would be asking the Irish Government to police and patrol on behalf of the British Government and it would also be restricting those European citizens within the European Union area. As Mr. Durkan pointed out, that would be picked upon and someone would see it as a good idea for the Irish Government to look after the ports and borders. We need to tease that out.

Do we have any understanding of why Unionist farmers might have voted to leave despite all the advice the British Government would not follow the gravy train they had previously? Is there any indication of a change of attitude among them on that aspect? I have not found it in talking to farmers. They still seem to be very confident that the British Government will pay out the same amount of money, which nobody else believes.

We need to look for solutions. I know it is political and that is not the witnesses' field. There seems to be reluctance to look at the solution. For all of Ireland to remain within the European Union requires an all-Ireland solution. Politics has to come into it regardless of how much we try to avoid it. It is unlikely that either Britain or the European Union would allow the North to remain in some sort of isolation, and Britain has already indicated it will not. We need to look at what the realistic possibilities are. People are concerned about the sensitivities of the Brits. However, they are not concerned about the sensitivities of our situation. The Irish Government has a responsibility to look after all its citizens. We, in the North, are part of its citizenry and also need to be looked after within that. As long as all of Ireland wants to remain within the European Union, that also needs to be respected.