Mr. Dáithí O'Ceallaigh:

We are in new territory. As I said at the outset it is very uncertain and unpredictable. We just do not know where it will end up.

I agree that it is critical to preserve the fundamentals of the Good Friday Agreement. As I said before, there is a lot of goodwill in Brussels. Therefore, we have to bring to Brussels our concerns about preserving the principles of the Good Friday Agreement. It would be helpful if we got agreement with the British Government in advance.

I am minded by what Deputy Smith has said. Mr. Craig Oliver was in charge of Brexit communications in Number 10. At the end of the campaign he wrote a book that was based on his diaries entitled Unleashing Demons: The Inside Story of Brexit. In the book he described the campaign carried out by the British Government to win a vote to remain but Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland were not mentioned once. That is the realty. We have to play to our advantage but we need to know the playing field. It would be useful if we ensured that the principles underling the Good Friday Agreement, in which the Europeans had a hand, formed part of the eventual outcome of the negotiations between the British and Irish.

Brexit is a political problem in Northern Ireland. Some politicians and political parties in Northern Ireland were not necessarily pro-Brexit but now that the vote has been cast and the United Kingdom as a whole has voted for Brexit, they have rowed in behind it. That means both Unionist parties, whereas the SDLP and Sinn Féin remain opposed.

On the transport issue, before Austria joined the EU it imposed a tax on European lorries crossing Austrian territory. With Brexit it is possible that a tax will be imposed on Irish lorries, many of whom travel across British territory. That is the sort of thing that should be pinned down in the negotiations. Britain should be told that it cannot impose a tax or tariff.

It would be worthwhile for the committee to find out, through talking to people, what problems exist and have them ought to the attention of the Irish Government. I have been out of government for a long time. From my experience, I know that the Irish Government is capable, competent and committed to the future of this island. The more it knows about the problems then the greater the possibility of finding solutions with its European partners that are not opposed to finding a solution to this particular problem of Northern Ireland.