Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Before the budget we had the great unknowns. I mean that the Minister said that we did not know the type of Brexit because we did not know the outcome of the elections.

Earlier President-elect Trump was mentioned. Last week I visited Washington to discuss his intentions with a number of Congressmen and senior officials. Trying to read his mind is a difficult job. On my visit there was a consensus to have a change in tax. There will be a compromise between what the Republicans and the President want, resulting in a change. That is just what they think and there is no guarantee that it will happen, but that is the consensus that I detected in Capitol Hill last week.

I raise this point because we are exposed. How ready are we for the responses? Some of this matter is outside our control. We can pretend that we have a significant influence and can shape what Britain and the EU will do. While we need to influence them as much as possible, is it not the case that, given Mr. McCarthy's point on the impact that a hard Brexit will have on the economy, employment and the available fiscal space, we have been left with little wriggle room to respond to some of the major challenges facing us on either side of the island of Ireland?